1. THE EURES-ESF CONFERENCE 26 APRIL 2013

2. BACKGROUND ON EURES

3. EURES Set up in 1993 Based on Regulation 492/2011
Facilitating freedom of movement of workers
Key obligation: clearance of vacancies and applications for employment at EU level
Transparency: towards a European labour market
Transnational, interregional and cross-border mobility - services to jobseekers, employers and other stakeholders
Set up in 1993, EURES (European Employment Services) is a European network for worker mobility involving the European Commission and the public employment services (PES) of the EEA Member States (the EU countries, plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and the social partners' organisations. Switzerland also takes part in the co-operation. The network is responsible for exchanging information on the availability of labour, vacancies, living and work conditions and facilitates cooperation between its members and with stakeholders. It contributes to the development of a European labour market.
Current legal basis of EURES- Derived from the fundamental right for freedom of movement of workers:
Council Regulation (EEC) 1612/68 on freedom of movement of workers within the Community, now codified as Regulation 492/2011 of 5 April part II mechanisms for vacancies clearance and exchange of applications which already underwent a reform in It lays down the obligation for the Member States to exchange vacancies and applications for employment which have not been satisfied at national level.
Commission Decision 2003/8/EC of 22 December 2002 which implements Council Regulation 1612/68 as regards the clearance of vacancies and applications for employment, thus defining the EURES network, objectives, composition and governance.

4. EURES EURES Portal Services to some 4 million visitors/month,
Access to more than 1 million vacancies (PES data bases);
> 50,000 searches/enquiries from the registered employers;
CVs of registered jobseekers at any one time in a given month
Human network of 900 Correspondants in 31 European Countries
HOW?

5. EURES reform

6. EURES Past: rather legal view of EURES
In order to allow workers to exercise their rights (free movement of workers), they need to be informed about their rights (EURES = mainly information provision)
Now: more economical (employment, service and customer-oriented ) view
EURES = more than only information => Job matching / placement and recruitment
Europe 2020 employment rate 75%
Enlargement of the free movement of workers space from 15 to 25 Member states as of 1 May 2011.
sense of urgency: high unemployment co-exisitng with bottleneck vacancies and skills shortages
Time of a life-time-job is over. We should strive for balanced and fair mobility.
According to the EU Labour Force survey (EU-LFS), in the second quarter of 2012 there were around 7.6 million EU citizens economically active in another EU country, representing 3.1% of the EU labour force. This represents a substantial increase compared to 2005 (around 4.8 million in 2005, or 2.1% of the EU labour force) driven notably by the 2004 and 2007 enlargements.
So far only 3.1% of the EU labour force constitutes EU citizens living in a Member State different from the one of their nationality. The number has increased by almost 60% since 2005, mainly driven by the 2004 and 2007 enlargements. Overall it is estimated that post-enlargement mobility flows (during ) have increased the GDP of EU-15 countries by around 1% in the long-run.
Moreover, those aggregate estimates do not include all EU mobile citizens because the EU-LFS covers mainly people who are 'usually resident' in a country and not for instance, the most recent movers or the short-term mobile workers (e.g.: staying only a few months). According to the 2009 Eurobarometer on geographical and labour mobility, around 10 % of EU citizens declared that they had already worked and lived in another country at some time, with 51 % of them having worked for less than two years, and 38 % for less than one year. According to the 2011 Eurobarometer on the Single Market, 28% of the EU working-age citizens would consider working in another EU country in the future. Moreover, this share is particularly high (54%) among the young people (15-24) and among those aged (38%).

7. Getting EURES to fulfil its potential
New objectives:
Focusing more on employment results i.e. matching, placement and recruitment
Get Public Employment Services (PES) and Private Employment services (PRES) to systematically cooperate when delivering EURES
''reformed'' EURES should become a pro-active European labour market instrument under the Europe 2020 employment strategy

8. EURES reform – key documents
Regulation (EU) 492/2011 on freedom of movement for workers within the Union - Chapter II – clearance of vacancies and applications for employment
Commission Implementing Decision 2012/733/EU - replacing Commission Decision (2003/8/EC) (OJ , L328/21)
New EURES Charter – guidance document with information to Member States on services, accreditation criteria, templates and technical standards
"

9. New funding of the network
VERTICAL ACTIVITIES
FINANCED UNDER THE ESF
EURES HORIZONTAL ACTIVITIES (financed under the PSCI)
Job Mobility Portal, training and communication, network governance
Shared Management
Direct Management
Examples: national and cross border activities
Provision of services to client groups;
job fairs (front office) ; data collection and systems; staff training (back office )
Activities
The EU Programme for Social Change and Innovation will ensure a stable and adequate funding for all necessary EURES horizontal activities in the period , such as the portal, training and communication for the network
The European Social Fund will support national and cross border EURES activities for the period , allowing for greater access to funding, more ownership, an integrated approach to mobility activities and other active labour market measures under the PES
ESF Regulation which includes a reference to "mobility" under investment priority 1
Programme for Social Change and Innovation (PSCI)" with the introduction of a "EURES-axis"

10. THE EURES-ESF CONFERENCE

11. TARGET AUDIENCE All main stakeholders
ESF Managers – national + regional level
EURES Managers
EURES Cross-Border Partnership Coordinators
Heads of Public Employment Service and their Assistants

12. AIMS
to promote that EURES/mobility management be included as much as possible under the operational programmes for the ESF in the period
to inform about the strategic needs for EU support to EURES and intra-EU labour mobility management for the years to come
to inspire the ESF managing authorities and the EURES members in the conception and programming of appropriate EURES/ mobility actions under the ESF

13. MAIN ISSUES COVERED
Importance of transnational mobility in times of austerity
EURES as leading tool of transnational mobility
ESF - strategic planning
Transnational mobility and ESF
ESF - simplification of financial rules

14. METHODS Presentations on strategy and programming
Commission, ESF Managers, EURES Managers
Sharing best practices / case studies
representatives of intra-EU labour mobility projects already existing under ESF
Panel discussion - open debate about the opportunity to support mobility, how and where to do it
Representative of different stakeholders;
Experts on labour mobility

15. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Date: Friday 26 April (back-to-back with ESF TWG)
Venue: CHARLEMAGNE, Rue de la Loi 170
Duration: 09:30 – 16:00
Walking diner on 25 April (19:30 – 21:30), venue: tbc
Formal invitation: week of 11 March
Registration via DESTREE

16. YOUR SUPPORT IS NEEDED Speakers for slot on ESF strategic planning
Aim: Make few specific recommendations on how EURES activities should be formulated in order to be included into national OPs.
Examples of transnational mobility projects
Further suggestions for information to share
Functional mailbox:

17. Thank you!