SPRING SUMMIT : EMPLOYMENT: RETURN OF FIRM TARGETS.

EU leaders attending the European Council on 23 and 24 March reiterated their belief that 'increasing employment in Europe remains one of the top priorities for reform'. They took an optimistic line: 'Labour market reforms that have been undertaken in recent years are beginning to bear fruit', emphasising that 'a key objective is to increase labour market participation, especially of the young, women, older workers, persons with disabilities and legal migrants and minorities' (see Europolitics 171 for the details on the tripartite social summit conclusions).

The need for a broader social dialogue was also highlighted. 'Work should be conducted in close cooperation with social partners'. The target set in Lisbon of achieving 70% employment rate by 2010 has been converted into an annual objective: 'creating at least two million new posts per year up to 2010' (a little less that promised in preliminary draft conclusions). 'Further efforts [will be] required'.

JOBS FOR THE YOUNG

The Council emphasises the urgent need to 'improve the situation of young people in the labour market and to reduce significantly youth unemployment'. It recalls the targets of 'reducing early school leaving to 10%' and ensuring that 'at least 85% of 22 year-olds should have completed upper secondary education'. By the end of 2007, 'every young person who has left school and is unemployed should be offered a job, apprenticeship, additional training or other employability measure within six months, and within no more than 4 months by 2010'. The deadline for this target was previously set for the end of 2005. This new deadline avoided EU leaders facing the painful question of why there had been this failure.

FLEXICURITY

The European Council asks member states to grant 'special attention' to 'flexicurity' (balancing flexibility and security), a 'major challenge', discussed by Economic Affairs and Finance Ministers over dinner on 23 March. the aim is to protect people and jobs, the priority is adaptability and training, according to Austrian Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser (Europolitics will look at the question in more detail in a future issue).

The Commission, jointly with member states and social partners, will explore the development of 'a set of common principles on flexicurity'. These principles could be a useful reference in achieving more open and responsive labour markets and more productive workplaces.

The proposal by the Commission to establish a European...

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