Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2014)6 - Regulation on a European network of Employment Services, workers' access to mobility services and the further integration of labour markets - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2014)6 - Regulation on a European network of Employment Services, workers' access to mobility services and the further integration of ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2014)6  |
| date | 17-01-2014 |
This proposal for a Regulation aims to enhance access of workers to intra-EU labour mobility support services, thus supporting fair mobility and increasing access to employment opportunities throughout the Union.
It replaces the provisions on the exchange of information on job vacancies, job applications and CV’s across Member States (“clearance”) found currently in Chapter II and Article 38 of Regulation 492/2011[1] and is based on Article 46 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the Union ('the Treaty'). It also (re)establishes the European network of Employment Services, called EURES, the purpose of which will be to provide assistance with job search and recruitment across Member States. A similar network is active today on the basis of a Commission Decision adopted in 2012[2]. Therefore, upon adoption of this Regulation, the Commission will repeal the above Decision on the functioning of the current EURES network.
Article 45 of the Treaty secures the freedom of movement for workers within the Union while Article 46 sets out the measures to bring about this freedom, in particular by ensuring close cooperation between the Public Employment Services ('PES'). The Commission also recently introduced a proposal to establish a network of PES[3] to deepen cooperation and mutual learning based on Article 149 of the Treaty. That network will cover a wider range of objectives and initiatives in the form of incentives and is complementary to this proposal.
Freedom of movement is one of the four fundamental freedoms of the European Union and a core element of EU citizenship. Article 45 TFEU enshrines the right of EU citizens to move to another Member State for work purposes.
Mobility generates social and economic benefits. Increased intra-EU labour mobility will widen employment opportunities for workers and help employers fill job vacancies better and faster. This contributes to the development of a European labour market with a high level of employment (Article 9 TFEU).
Intra-EU labour mobility is relatively low when compared to the size of the labour market and the active population of the EU. Annual mobility within the former EU27 is 0.29%, below the rates of Australia (1.5% between 8 states) and the United States of America (2.4% between 50 states) i. Only approximately 7.5 million of the European labour force of around 241 million (i.e. 3.1%) is economically active in another Member State[5]. At present high unemployment rates in some Member States coexist with high numbers of open job vacancies in others.
There has been a significant increase in the number of workers that indicate 'firm intentions' (i.e.: the proportion of those planning to migrate in the following 12 months) to move to work abroad[6]. Registrations with EURES indicate that there is an increase in the number of people looking for a job across national borders. The number of job seekers registered on the EURES portal has increased from 175.000 to 1.200.000 between 2007 and December 2013 without a corresponding increase in job mobility.
Today only about 700.000 persons on average move annually to work in another Member State[7], whilst extrapolations on the surveys show that about 2.9 million EU citizens would like to move in the following 12 months[8]. This represents a significant mobility potential and a challenge for the EURES network.
There are many reasons why the potential for intra-EU labour mobility remains untapped and individual citizens do not realise their intentions to become mobile workers. Surveys[9] show that the most common practical difficulties expected or encountered are the lack of relevant language knowledge and the difficulties in finding a job. The EU can contribute to addressing the latter by raising awareness on employment opportunities across the Union and developing appropriate support services to encourage intra-EU recruitments. This will be the task of the reinforced EURES network.
Whereas the functioning of the EURES network was subject to some changes at the initiative of the Commission through its 2012 Decision, the Chapter II of Regulation 492/2011 which constitutes the European regulatory framework for the clearance and information exchange between Member States on intra-EU labour mobility has not been amended since 1992.
A comprehensive revision is needed to reflect new mobility patterns, enhanced requirement for fair mobility, changes in the technology for sharing job vacancy data, the use of a variety of recruitment channels by job seekers and employers and an increasing role of other labour market brokers next to the Public Employment Services (PES) in the provision of recruitment services. Fair mobility is understood as mobility which takes places on a voluntary basis and which respects labour law and labour standards as well as workers' rights within the Union.
The conclusions of the 28 and 29 June 2012 European Council on the Compact for Growth and Jobs recognize the political urgency to enhance intra EU labour mobility against the background of high unemployment rates: "the EURES portal should be developed into a true European placement and recruitment tool (…)". The conclusions of the European Council of 13 and 14 December 2012 on the 2013 Annual Growth Survey and youth employment invited the Commission to propose a new EURES regulation.
In its 2013 EU Citizenship Report[10] the Commission committed to put forward an initiative in 2013 to modernise EURES to enhance the role and impact of employment services at national level and improve the coordination of labour mobility in the EU (action 2). Modernising EURES is also included in the Commission Communication “Free movement of EU citizens and their families: Five actions to make a difference”[11] of 25 November 2013 as part of the action aiming at helping local authorities apply EU free movement rules on the ground (action 5).
In line with the request in the above conclusions of the 28 and 29 June 2012 European Council, the EURES network will also be gradually extended to cover apprenticeships and traineeships. Employment through intra-EU recruitments for young people is supported by Your first EURES job (YfEJ). This scheme combines customised job search assistance with financial support for travel expenses for job interviews, job settlement etc. The Commission intends to continue to support such schemes. The proposal for a Regulation should also reinforce the capacity of employment services to develop partnerships to bring about more intra-EU recruitments for young people. To ensure coherence with ongoing initiatives at EU level, such as the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs and the European Alliance for Apprenticeships, the EURES network is also called upon to actively promote the development of those initiatives.
In line with the Employment Package[12], the Commission adopted in 2012 a Decision to modernise and reinforce the EURES network[13]. The Decision replaces the 2003 Commission Decision[14] and aims to create incentives to strengthen matching, placement and recruitment activities within the current EURES network, inter alia by opening up to Private Employment Services ('PrES'), in as far as possible, without modifying the legal basis (Regulation 492/2011). Commission Implementing Decision 2012/733/EU entered into force on 1 January 2014.
Evidence shows that the EURES network, with about 900 advisers and a common platform for European job vacancy clearance - the EURES portal - has helped many job seekers and employers in realising mobility opportunities. Those who reach out to this instrument and can use the services it offers, generally appreciate it.
Yet it is evident that the instrument as it functions today is not sufficiently equipped to encourage further fair mobility patterns as part of the solutions for the imbalances on the European labour market, particularly given the size of the EU labour force and the nature of the challenge in the current economic situation. The following shortcomings in the functioning of the EURES network have been identified:
– An incomplete pool of job vacancies and CVs accessible at EU level for all Member States (transparency of labour markets);
– A limited matching capability of the EURES portal that brings job vacancies and CV's together at EU level, due to the limited degree of semantic interoperability of data coming from national job vacancy systems (automated matching potential);
– An uneven access to EURES services across the EU as job seekers and employers do not receive systematically all the necessary information on EURES nor receive an offer for further assistance at the first stage of recruitment (mainstreaming);
– A limited availability to assist with matching, recruitment and placement for those job seekers and employers who have indicated their interest in intra-EU labour mobility, including in gaining access to both active labour market measures and information and advice on social security (support services);
– An inefficient information exchange between Member States on labour shortages and surpluses, hampering a more targeted practical co-operation in the EURES network (information exchange and cooperation).
The general objective is to make the EURES network an effective instrument for any job seeker or employer interested in intra-EU labour mobility. The specific objectives of the proposal address the above shortcomings as follows:
– to achieve on the EURES portal a nearly complete supply of job vacancies, with job seekers all over Europe having instant access to the same vacancies, in combination with an extensive pool of CV’s available from which registered employers can recruit;
– to enable the EURES portal to carry out a good automated matching between job vacancies and CV’s across Member States, translating in all EU languages and understanding skills, competences, qualifications and occupations acquired at national and sectoral level;
– to make available basic information about the EURES network throughout the Union to any job seeker or employer seeking client services for recruitment and to consistently offer any person interested access to the EURES network;
– to assist any such person interested with matching, placement and recruitment through the EURES network;
– to support the functioning of the EURES network through information exchange on national labour shortages and surpluses and the coordination of actions across Member States.
Contents
- RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
- LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL
- BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
- 1.1. The scope of the proposal
- 1.2. Rationale for the proposal
- 1.3. Shortcomings in the EURES network
- 1.4. Objectives of the proposal
- 2.1. Consultations with Member States
- 2.2. Consultations with practitioners
- 2.3. Impact assessment
- 3.1. Legal basis
- 3.2. Subsidiarity and proportionality principles
- 5. DETAILED OUTLINE OF THE PROPOSAL
- A nearly complete supply of job vacancies
- Supporting mechanisms for online access for job seekers and employers
- Automated matching
- Responsibilities for the quality of the data
- Principles
- Mainstreaming
- Support services
- Specific support services
- Overall purpose of information exchange and reporting
- Activities relating to information exchange
- Activities relating to reporting
The starting point for the 2012 Decision was the 2010 evaluation of the EURES network[15]. In the context of the preparation towards the 2012 Decision, consultations have taken place with Member States on current shortcomings and possible future orientations for the EURES network. The Advisory Committee on Freedom of Movement of Workers was formally consulted on the draft Decision in the autumn of 2012. The main aim of the Decision, to reorient the EURES services from general information and guidance towards more matching, placement and recruitment, was generally welcomed. All Member States have also supported the idea of a programming cycle and common indicators on EURES activities to increase transparency on performance, enhance information exchange and improve the coordination of actions.
Since then individual Member States in expert meetings have clarified their positions on the scope of possible implementation measures in light of national practices and constraints. As a result of these meetings, it was agreed to adjust the approach towards opening up the network to service providers other than the PES to allow Member States more time and leeway on how to develop partnerships at national level.
Building on the above consultations on the EURES network in general, questionnaires were sent out in 2013 to review practices on the access to job vacancies at national level, the access for job seekers and employers to the EURES network, and the organisation of matching, placement and recruitment activities across the EURES network. The replies to these questionnaires confirm the shortcomings identified by the Commission, as they show a wide diversity in Member States on (a) which job vacancies are made subject to European clearance (transparency of labour markets), (b) their starting position for enabling automated matching, (c) how to gain access to the EURES network in practice (mainstreaming) and (d) the actual provision of support services.
In line with its policy on better regulation, the Commission conducted an impact assessment of policy alternatives for addressing the shortcomings identified.
The different policy alternatives were (1) maintaining the status quo, (2) amending Regulation 492/2011 as regards the powers of the Commission on the implementation of its provisions, (3) introducing a new Regulation with new provisions altogether and i introducing a new Regulation with a specific Commission mandate to increase the co-operation between public and private employment services. All options were analysed against the general objective to make the EURES network an effective instrument for any job seeker or employer interested in intra-EU labour mobility.
The impact assessment demonstrated that the first option would result in delays in the reform launched with the 2012 Decision. The second option would enable the Commission to bring forward appropriate measures and to continue the process towards a more effective instrument, but, in light of the constraints in some Member States, was not expected to secure the desired outcome of the Decision without changes in Regulation 492/2011 itself. The second option would also not fully resolve shortcomings on automated matching, mainstreaming, support services and information exchange and co-operation. The preferred option is therefore replacing Regulation 492/2011 and the 2012 Decision with a stand-alone instrument combining the provisions of the two instruments as well as addressing all shortcomings. Within this option, a number of specific alternatives were discarded as not being proportionate to the specific objectives. The fourth option which would add to option 3 a mandate for the Commission to autonomously establish partnerships with new employment services in the interest of the EURES network as a whole was considered to go beyond what is strictly necessary at this stage.
The Impact Assessment Board (‘IAB’) gave an opinion on the draft impact assessment on 5 December 2013. The opinion of the IAB as well as the final Impact Assessment and its executive summary are published together with this proposal.
This proposal is based on Article 46 TFEU, the same legal basis as Regulation (EU) No 492/2011, which allows for the adoption of Regulations or Directives under the ordinary legislative procedure.
The intentions of the proposed Regulation are closely connected to the objectives set out in Article 3(3) TEU, under which the European Union established an internal market based on a highly competitive social market economy, aimed at full employment and social progress, Article 9 TFEU, the promotion of a high level of employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection and Article 45 TFEU (“the right to accept offers of employment actually made (…) within the territory of Member States for this purpose”).
The individual specific measures in this proposal are closely interconnected. They reinforce each other and should together make the EURES network a preferred instrument of choice for any job seeker or employer interested in intra-EU labour mobility. Insofar as these measures entail expanding current transparency obligations, enabling automated matching, ensuring equal access throughout the Union to the EURES network, defining more clearly practical support services and extending current information exchange arrangements, they are deemed to be a comprehensive but balanced response to the different shortcomings in the current framework for cooperation. Those measures are also adequate in light of the situation of unemployed people on the labour markets, the needs of job seekers (“firm intentions”) and the (technological) evolutions on the job vacancy and recruitment markets.
Each individual measure is justified per se as a measure bringing about freedom of movement for workers identified under Article 46 of the Treaty. Each measure either aims at improving “the close cooperation between national employment services” (Article 46(a) TFEU) and/or at redesigning “the appropriate machinery” to bring job vacancies in touch with job applications (Article 46(d) TFEU).
As clearance of job vacancies, job applications and CV’s across borders and the resultant placement of workers both presuppose a common framework for co-operation between organisations in different Member States, the objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by Member States alone and action at EU level is therefore required.
In line with the principle of proportionality, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve the objectives. For transparency, the Member States will only make available to the EURES portal those job vacancies and CV’s already available nationally. Automated matching will be achieved using simple interoperability tools and not by imposing a common classification system for use at the national level. Mainstreaming, i.e. the integration of EURES services into the activity of front desks of employment services, can be achieved through standard information (online and/or paper) and only comes into play in those situations where direct contact at the explicit request of individuals in the target groups is made (i.e. in the case of a request for client services with employment services). Support services can be delivered at national level through a range of options and channels and its intensity and scope can be conditioned depending on the individual situation of job seekers and employers. Member States will share more systematically national information on labour shortages and surpluses and related policies, but the decision on these policies falls outside the scope of the Regulation.
The present proposal will not result in any specific budgetary impact for the EU budget. Any activities to be carried out by the European Commission for the EURES network which will result in the need for human and/or financial resources fall under the scope of the Regulation establishing the Programme for Employment and Social Innovation ("EaSI") (2014-2020)[16] and will be covered within the annual budgetary allocation of this programme.
For the period 2014-2020, this EU programme will pay for horizontal measures such as the EURES portal, the common training programme, targeted mobility schemes like Your first EURES Job and the development of the European classification for skills/competences, qualifications and occupations (ESCO). For the same period, activities in Member States on intra-EU labour mobility are eligible under the European Social Fund.
5.1. Chapter I – general provisions
This chapter defines the subject matter of the proposal (Article 1) and its key concepts (Article 2).
The proposal integrates into a single framework the provisions of chapter II and Article 38 of Regulation 492/2011 and the Commission Decision 733/2012/EU on the EURES network.
Throughout the proposal reference is made to workers and employers as the target groups. Workers are defined with reference to the rights conferred on citizens under Article 45 TFEU. For the purpose of the provisions, they are citizens who are looking for a job and have the right to take up an activity as an employed person and to pursue this activity in the territory of another Member State. However, they may also be third-country nationals legally residing in a Member State and having the right to work, provided that they may move to another Member State.
The proposal also covers these categories of citizens when they are seeking apprenticeship or work-based traineeship opportunities involving an employment contract. To address the request of the European Council of 28-29 June 2012, some members of the EURES network are already exploring on an informal basis the possibilities to extend the scope of the EURES network to cover apprenticeships and traineeships. A pilot project will start in the course of 2014 allowing Member States to share offers and applications on a voluntary basis. The aim should be to gradually develop the exchange of information, offers and applications in this area beyond situations covered by an employment contract.
5.2. Chapter II – Establishment of the EURES network
This Chapter re-establishes the EURES network (Article 3). It lays down its composition (Article 4(1)) and the respective roles and responsibilities of a) the Commission (the European Coordination Office, Article 6) b) the bodies designated by the Member States for the application of this Regulation (the National Coordination Offices, Article 7) and c) the organisations participating in the EURES network as service providers (EURES Partners, Article 9). As this is a network of mutual assistance, all these organisations share joint responsibilities (Article 4(2)).
The EURES network shall contribute to broad policy objectives (Article 5). As an instrument facilitating intra-EU labour mobility, it constitutes one among many solutions and policies fostering a high level of employment.
Article 8 establishes the framework on the basis of which individual Member States will authorise organisations to join the EURES network as EURES Partners, subject to the application of the minimum common criteria set out in the Annex (Article 8(4)). This provision is the main vehicle for broadening membership of the EURES network under this proposal.
The aim is to establish a flexible mechanism that enables Member States to (gradually) include in the EURES network as many organisations as deemed useful to further the EURES network’s objectives:
– Firstly, no definition is provided for an applicant organisation, so that access could be granted to a wide range of relevant organisations, including private or third sector employment services, employers’ organisations, trade unions, chambers of commerce and non-governmental organisations supporting migrant workers. All these organisations could meaningfully contribute to fostering intra-EU labour mobility in one way or another.
– Secondly, as some of these organisations may be subject to specific restrictions in their mandate, legal status or administrative capacity, it is made possible for them to choose to participate to only certain parts of the activities of the EURES network (Article 9(1)).
– Thirdly, these organisations can become EURES Partners in co-operation with other organisations (Article 8(6)). The framework thus allows for ample flexibility in building partnerships at national level and thereby for the progressive development of extensive geographical and thematic outreach and service provision at national level commensurate to the mobility patterns and needs.
Article 8(3) introduces for employment services a right to apply. This right can only be exercised in the country in which the employment services concerned are lawfully operating (territoriality principle). While public employment services (PES) will continue to play a prominent role in the EURES network (Article 10), the review of applications by other types of employment services will be left to the individual Member State. A Member State may introduce criteria additional to those laid down in the Annex if deemed necessary (Article 8(5)).
Article 11 introduces a single governance body to facilitate practical co-operation between Commission and Member States for this Regulation.
5.3. Chapter III – Transparency
This chapter introduces the specific measures on transparency and automated matching:
– to achieve on the EURES portal a nearly complete supply of job vacancies, with job seekers all over Europe having instant access to the same vacancies, in combination with an extensive pool of CV’s available from which registered employers can recruit (Articles 14, 15 and 17);
– to enable the EURES portal to carry out a good automated matching between job vacancies and CV’s across Member States, translating in all EU languages and understanding skills, competences, occupations and qualifications acquired at national level (Article 16).
The provisions in this chapter explicitly support the extension of the principle of transparency to organisations other than the PES, in principle through the voluntary participation in the EURES network by EURES Partners. In addition, the PES are encouraged to develop partnerships with any other relevant organisations on the principle of easy access to the EURES portal (Article 15(2)) and to facilitate information transfer at national level through the creation of a national hub (Article 15(5).
Currently, not all Member States make available to the EURES portal all job vacancies published and available at national level. Article 14(1), paragraph (a) will require Member States to make available to the EURES portal all the job vacancies they publish nationally and therefore extends the scope of Article 13 of Regulation 492/2011.
Firstly, this means doing away with any general administrative limitations in the transfer of job vacancies to the EURES portal to date, such as those related to the nature and duration of the contract or the recruitment intentions of the employers (Article 14(2)).
Secondly, it involves adding to the existing job vacancy pool the job vacancies (a) available with PES at local or regional level, but not shared centrally nor made available to the EURES portal so far; (b) from third parties, such as private employment services, where these are made available to the PES on the basis of existing national agreements and (c) from EURES Partners.
Taking into account the relatively recent technological developments on web crawling, the limited number of Member States which make use of such tools and possible data protection concerns, at this stage it is not proposed to require Member States to make available to the EURES portal any data harvested with web crawlers in accordance with national law.
An extensive pool of job applications and CV's
Currently no automated electronic exchange of CVs or other job seeker profile information takes place at European level, despite the formulation in Article 13 of Regulation 492/2011. Article 14(1)(b) will require Member States to make available in the future to the EURES portal job applications and CV’s available nationally, provided that the individual has consented to their transmission to the EURES portal.
This will cover the transmission to the EURES portal of the data, made available by job seekers, (a) directly to the PES, (b) to the PES as a result of any agreements or arrangements on data sharing between the PES and other employment services and (c) to EURES Partners. This would allow employers registered on the EURES portal to directly access a wider pool of CV's.
To make it easier for job seekers and employers to share job applications, CV’s and job vacancies across borders, two obligations are introduced: (a) Article 15 requires PES and other EURES Partners to improve access to the EURES portal on the job search portals they manage, and (b) Article 17 provides that PES and other EURES Partners registering their data, must offer job seekers and employers adequate assistance when they would like to register also on the EURES portal.
The European Commission is developing a European classification of skills, competences, qualifications and occupations. While its first function is to serve as an automated skills-based matching engine for the EURES portal, it will allow for full interoperability of data between national job search portals across Europe.
From a technical point of view, no harmonisation of classifications systems is required to achieve interoperability for the purpose of automated matching. To introduce in Union law an appropriate mechanism enabling all Member States to develop automated matching across borders on national job search portals, Article 16 provides merely that Member States will make an initial inventory to map all classifications to and from this European classification. Article 16(3) sets a date for delivery for all Member States after which all data shared would be interoperable, provided that technical standards and templates are used (Article 16(5)).
The responsibility for the quality of the job vacancy, the correctness of the information it provides and its compliance with national law and standards lies with the organisation that makes this information available to the EURES portal. In order to inform the users of the portal about this responsibility, there is a corresponding disclaimer from the Commission on the portal. Article 14 refers to the need for such national law and standards in paragraph 4, while paragraph 5 lays down the principle of cooperation and exchange on information in this field and paragraph 6 provides that the source of job vacancy data must be traceable (to the organisation that makes it available).
5.4. Chapter IV – support services
This chapter introduces the specific measures on mainstreaming and support services:
– to make available basic information on the EURES network throughout the Union to any job seeker or employer seeking client services for recruitment and to consistently offer any person interested access to the EURES network (Articles 19 and 20(1));
– to assist any such person interested in matching, placement and recruitment through the EURES network (Articles 20(2)-(4), 21 to 23).
The provisions in this chapter explicitly support the extension of the delivery of support services by organisations other than the PES, in principle through the voluntary participation in the EURES network by EURES Partners. In addition, PES are encouraged to develop partnerships to promote a coherent service package to employers as regards intra-EU labour mobility (Article 21(4)).
Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 18 respectively enshrine the principles that Member States must ensure effective access to the EURES network on their territory and that they develop a coordinated approach to support services, taking into account their responsibility for the authorisation system for EURES Partners, the smooth functioning of the National Coordination Office and the role of the PES in serving the public interest in this area. Article 18(3) identifies the menu of options for service provision on the territory of each Member State.
Article 18(5) enshrines the principle that support services to workers must be free of charge, while for most support services to employers fees can be charged in accordance with national practices (Article 18(6)).
Articles 19 and 20 (1) provide respectively that (a) every worker and employer registering for client services with an employment service in the EU must receive the necessary basic information on what EURES can do for them and (b) that every worker interested is made proactively aware of a 'EURES offer' for further assistance.
Under current practice, organisations in the EURES network are invited to provide information services, counselling and advice to respectively job seekers and employers as follows:
– (…) help and adviser job seekers interested in working abroad about suitable job vacancies and provide help and assistance with the drawing up of applications and CVs, in conformity with the recommended European CV format. Job seekers shall be given the opportunity to register their CVs in the EURES database;
– (…) provide information and recruitment services to employers who wish to recruit from other countries, including advice and help to specify the profile of the potential candidates. They shall promote the EURES CV database as a tool to give employers access to a pool of those interested in working abroad.
With the 2012 Decision, Member States were invited to focus more on matching, placement and recruitment.
To support a more consistent implementation within the EURES network, EU law should specify the support services to be provided to those job seekers and employers interested in assistance with intra-EU labour mobility. Articles 20-23 cover the whole range of services; from basic information and guidance, to more personalised assistance, including on social security, and post-recruitment assistance.
Frontier workers face specific issues as regards social security, taxation and insurance and require therefore specific assistance.
The concerned Member States may decide to set up co-operation and service structures in cross-border regions and where they do so, support services to frontier workers must include a) one stop shop solutions for communication on job vacancies, job applications and CV’s (Article 15(6); b) targeted basic information (Article 19(2) and c) as regards social security, an integrated on line access (Article 23(2)) and assistance and referral to competent authorities on social security (Article 23(3)).
One specific form of these support structures are cross-border partnerships. Under the guidance of the PES of Member States, they may bring together, in various partnership constellations, depending on the regional cross-border labour market needs, the public employment services, employers and trades union organisations, local authorities and other institutions dealing with employment and vocational training problems in the border regions. Cross-border regions qualifying for a specific support structure are employment catchment areas in which there are significant levels of cross-border commuting or a clear potential for it.
Non-discriminatory access to Active Labour Market Policies (ALMP’s)
Article 24 lays down the principle that there shall be no discrimination in the access to ALMP’s between nationals moving within the territory of the own country and nationals moving to other Member States (equal treatment in case of outbound mobility). It is the corollary of Article 5 of Regulation 492/2011, which provides that workers who seek employment in a Member State shall receive the same assistance as that afforded to the own nationals in that Member State (equal treatment in case of inbound mobility).
5.5. Chapter V – relationship to mobility policies
This chapter introduces the specific measure:
– to support the functioning of the EURES network through information exchange on national labour shortages and surpluses and the coordination of actions across Member States (Articles 25 to 30).
The provisions in this chapter explicitly support the extension of the collection and review of information, data and indicators by organisations other than the PES, through the participation in the EURES network by EURES Partners.
The overall purpose of this chapter is to reinforce the existing arrangements for sharing information in the EURES network where it benefits the quality of concrete collective outputs or the coordination of policies of Member States.
Article 25 takes over a provision agreed within the framework of the negotiations on the EU Programme Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI). This should help integrate into the work of the EURES network data analysis work on mobility flows and patterns. As this provision is better placed in the EURES Regulation it is proposed to repeal the corresponding Article in the EaSI Programme (see Article 35).
Article 26 introduces an obligation on Member States to share labour market intelligence relevant for intra-EU labour mobility. This will help Member States to link the actions within the EURES network to the broader picture of mobility policies.
Article 27 aims to encourage all the organisations within the EURES network, i.e. the Coordination Offices, the PES and other EURES Partners, to share openly and proactively available information on the situation in the individual Member State likely to be of use for workers interested in intra-EU labour mobility. To date, this information is only gathered by Coordination Offices and then put on the EURES portal. A more inclusive bottom-up approach process for compiling this kind of information will be beneficial for the workers. The result could be consolidated in agreed templates (Article 27(3)).
Article 28 takes over the approach on programming from the 2012 Decision. Sharing information on planned activities, resources and monitoring among National Coordination Offices should strengthen the effectiveness of the whole EURES network. It may reinforce synergies and the development of specific joint recruitment projects.
Article 29 establishes ways to measure the outcome of the EURES network.
Article 30 aims at continuing the approach established in Article 17 of Regulation 492/2011 to report every two years on the implementation of Chapter II of the Regulation.
5.6. Chapter VI – final provisions
Article 31 clarifies that all measures provided for in this Regulation must be carried out in accordance with EU law on protection of personal data and the national implementing measures thereto. As the Commission in its role as European Coordination Office is one of the actors, Regulation 45/2001 must also be respected.
Article 32 provides for an ex post evaluation on the introduction of this Regulation.
Articles 33 and 34 are standard provisions in secondary EU legislation relating to the application of Articles 290 and 291 TFEU.
Article 35 identifies the provisions to repeal.
Article 36 underscores the existence of transitional arrangements in accordance with accession treaties. This provision is applicable to Croatia.