Informal Council EPSCO : employment central in new economic governance
The Informal Council of European Employment and Social Affairs Ministers, which took place in Brussels today, focused primarily of the place of employment in the new Europe 2020 Strategy for employment and growth.The subject was discussed with the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy during a working lunch.
The Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Employment Minister, Joëlle Milquet led the discussion. Also in attendance were the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion László Andor, and the President of the European Parliament’s Employment Commission Pervenche Berès.
Economic Governance
Introduction of economic governance by the Belgian President
The President introduced the subject of economic governance by noting that if employment lies at the heart of the Europe 2020 Strategy it should also lay at the centre of the future economic governance.
In her analysis the President stated that this would require two main changes:
- First it would be necessary to accept that while employment undoubtedly constitutes factor of social cohesion, it also (and at least as much so) constitutes a fundamental factor of competitiveness and of growth. This key growth and competiveness policy element has not however been given the importance that it warrants.
- These different elements and arguments demonstrate the extent to which employment policies should lie at the heart of macroeconomic and growth policies and by extension at the centre of the new economic governance. The President maintained that the EPSCO Council should play an active role within the new Europe 2020 economic governance strategy, through optimization of article 148 potentialities.
Recommendations relating to the place of employment policies within the framework of economic governance submitted by the ministers to the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy and his replies
All of the ministers agreed that it was vital to place employment at the heart of the Europe 2020 Strategy and its mechanisms of governance by formally integrating the EPSCO Council and adapting its work to schedule of the future “European Semester”. They expressed their hopes that employment recommendations become an integral part of each Member State’s global economic recommendations that will be considered annually within the context of the new “European Semester”. They also pointed out that article 148 of the Treaty should serve as the basis for all macroeconomic and thematic surveillance mechanisms,
During the working lunch, EU Council President, Herman Van Rompuy expressed his sympathy for the ministers’ points of view. He emphasized that only growth with employment could lead Europe out of the current crisis and to what extent employment was a factor of competitiveness. He agreed that EPSCO should play greater role in the future economic governance, that coordination with ECOFIN was indispensible and that the articulation between macroeconomic and thematic surveillance mechanisms had to be reconsidered.
New employment policies facing demographic and climatic challenges
After the working lunch with the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, the ministers discussed the outlines of new strategies to be implemented in order to tackle new challenges linked to employment policies.
- Demographic change: increasing and reorganising participation in the labour market and anticipating white job creation
- Policies linked to climate change: green jobs - a major and indispensable driving force for a successful transition to a competitive low carbon economy
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