Structural reforms are necessary to ensure sustainable growth and to provide the people living in Europe's regions and cities with jobs: this was the main conclusion of the EPP Group meeting, which took place in Brussels today ahead of the European Committee of the Regions plenary session. Given that local and regional authorities are responsible for social and employment services and in view of the significant employment discrepancies within countries, the EPP Mayors, regional presidents and councillors want to be better integrated in the Europe 2020 Strategy, which remains the EU's strategy for jobs and growth.
Framing the debate on creating jobs in Europe, Michael Schneider, President of the EPP Group in the Committee of the Regions, stressed that there is still much work to be done reach the Europe 2020 Strategy target of 75% employment by 2020. "Despite a slight increase in employment in 2014, the European Union seems to be a long way from reaching its targets. The creation of jobs continues to be the key economic and social challenge for all levels of government and we are ready to join the debate so that employment policies are better understood on the ground."
The recent crisis offers a unique opportunity to undertake a fundamental reform of employment policies; the research of the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies confirms. Presenting this research to the EPP Group, Siegfried Mureşan, MEP and EPP spokesman, said "We are the political family that wants to prevent unemployment, not only to reduce it. For this, we need to build a strong economy, which investors trust and in which they are confident to invest. Structural reforms are necessary to achieve this". In his view, Europe should focus on creating more flexibility in the labour markets because this will attract more investors to Europe. "This would be good for employed people as it keeps up incentives for life-long learning, it is good for companies and it is good for job seekers because companies will be ready to hire new people" he explained. He also wants job creation policies to remain at the forefront of economic governance decisions at EU level.
Speaking about the creation of jobs in Europe, Mauro D'Attis, Councillor of Brindisi Municipal Council and rapporteur for the CoR opinion on the EU guidelines for the employment policies of the member states, called on the European Commission to place a greater emphasis on growing economies: "The digital, green and social sectors can be of great help in boosting growth and creating new jobs in Europe. Measurable outcomes on employment, inclusion and cohesion should help to make the European Social Fund a natural tool for employment and social policies.”
In the EPP’s view, the competitiveness of Europe also depends on a strong Digital Single Market, with a focus on e-skills. How to teach digital and entrepreneurial skills will therefore be the main topic for the EPP Group's Study Visit, which is taking place at the Committee of the Regions on 21-22 September, in partnership with the European Democrat Students.