In its conclusions of 17 June 2010, the European Council adopted the Europe 2020 Strategy for jobs and smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (‘Europe 2020’). The European Council called for the mobilisation of all Union instruments and policies to support the achievement of the common objectives and invited the Member States to take enhanced coordinated action. Public Employment Services (PES) play a central role in contributing to the achievement of the Europe 2020 employment rate headline target of 75 % for women and men aged between 20 and 64 by 2020, in particular by decreasing youth unemployment.
(2)
Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘Treaty’) lays down the freedom of movement for workers within the Union, while Article 46 thereof sets out the measures to bring about this freedom, in particular by ensuring close cooperation between the public employment services. A network of PES established under this Decision (‘the Network’) should, in addition to the general aspects of geographical mobility, cover a wide range of objectives and initiatives by way of incentive measures designed to improve cooperation between Member States in the field of employment.
(3)
This Decision should aim to encourage cooperation between Member States within the areas of PES responsibility. It formalises and strengthens the informal cooperation between the PES via the current European Network of Heads of PES, in which all Member States have agreed to participate. The full potential value of the Network resides in the continued participation of all Member States. That participation should be notified to the Secretariat of the Network.
(4)
In accordance with Article 148(4) of the Treaty, by Decision 2010/707/EU (3) the Council adopted guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States, which have been maintained for the years 2011-13. Those integrated guidelines provide guidance to the Member States on defining their national reform programmes and on implementing reforms. The integrated guidelines form the basis for country-specific recommendations that the Council addresses to the Member States under that Article. In recent years, those recommendations have included specific recommendations on the functioning and capacity of PES and on the effectiveness of active labour market policies in Member States.
(5)
The country-specific recommendations would benefit from being further supported by an enhanced evidence-based feedback on the success of policy implementation and cooperation between the PES of Member States. To this end, the Network should carry out concrete initiatives such as common evidence-based benchmarking systems, corresponding mutual learning activities, mutual assistance between the Network members and the implementation of strategic actions for the modernisation of PES. The specific knowledge of the Network and its individual members should also be used to provide, at the request of the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission or the Employment Committee (EMCO), evidence for the development of employment policies.
(6)
Greater and more focused cooperation between the PES should lead to an improved sharing of best practices. The Network should link findings based on benchmarking and mutual learning activities in a way that allows the development of a systematic, dynamic and integrated benchlearning process.
(7)
The Network should work in close cooperation with EMCO, pursuant to Article 150 of the Treaty, and should contribute to EMCO's work by providing factual evidence and reports on policies implemented by the PES. Contributions from the Network to the European Parliament should be channelled through the Secretariat, and those to the Council should be channelled through EMCO, without any modification and, where appropriate, together with comments. In particular, the combined knowledge of the Network on the delivery aspects of employment policies and the comparative analyses of PES could assist policy decision-makers, at both Union and national level, in assessing and designing employment policies.
(8)
The Network, within the areas of PES responsibility, should contribute to the implementation of policy initiatives in the field of employment such as the Council Recommendation of 22 April 2013 on establishing a Youth Guarantee (4). The Network should also support initiatives aimed at better skills matching, decent and sustainable work, enhanced voluntary labour mobility and facilitating the transition from education and training to work, including through support for the provision of guidance and the enhanced transparency of skills and qualifications. The activities of the Network should address the evaluation and assessment of active labour market policies, including those targeting vulnerable social groups and social exclusion.
(9)
The Network should reinforce cooperation between its members, develop joint initiatives aimed at exchanges of information and best practices in all areas covered by PES, comparative analyses and advice, as well as the promotion of innovative approaches to the delivery of employment services. By establishing the Network, an inclusive, evidence-based and performance-oriented comparison of all PES will be possible, leading to the identification of best practices in the areas of PES services. Those results should contribute to a better design and delivery of employment services within their specific responsibilities. The initiatives of the Network should improve the effectiveness of PES and allow for more efficient public spending. The Network should also cooperate with other providers of employment services.
(10)
In its annual work programme, the Network should define the technical details of the PES benchmarking and the related mutual learning exercise, in particular the benchlearning methodology, on the basis of the benchmarking indicators as set out in the Annex to this Decision to assess the performance of PES, the context variables, the data delivery requirements, and the learning instruments of the integrated mutual learning programme. The benchmarking areas should be defined in this Decision. Member States remain competent to decide whether to engage on a voluntary basis in additional benchlearning exercises in other areas.
(11)
The power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending the Annex on benchmarking indicators. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, in particular with PES experts. The Commission, when preparing and drawing-up delegated acts, should ensure a simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament and to the Council.
(12)
Due to the variety of PES models, tasks and forms of service delivery, it is up to Member States to nominate, from the senior management of the PES, one member and one alternate member for the Board of the Network (‘the Board’). Where applicable, the member or the alternate member should represent, on the Board, other PES from his or her Member State. Where it is not possible, for constitutional reasons, for a Member State to nominate only one PES, the relevant PES should be identified, keeping their number to a minimum and without changing the rule that one Member State equals one vote on the Board. The members of the Board should make every effort to ensure that the opinions and experiences of local and regional authorities are incorporated into the Network's activities, and that such authorities are kept informed of those activities. The members of the Board should have the authority to take decisions on behalf of their PES. In order to ensure the involvement of all PES in the Network, activities should be open to the participation of PES from all levels.
(13)
In order to ensure that the common tasks of PES are closely matched to the actual situation on the labour market, the Network should have the most up-to-date unemployment figures at NUTS 3 level.
(14)
The Network should build on the experience of and replace the existing informal advisory group of the European Network of Heads of PES that the Commission has supported since 1997, the views of which have been taken into account in this Decision. The key areas for action identified by that advisory group in its paper entitled ‘PES Strategy 2020’ should contribute to the modernisation and the strengthening of PES.
(15)
The Network should provide mutual assistance to the benefit of its members and should help its members to support each other in the modernisation of organisational structures and service delivery by enhancing cooperation, in particular the transfer of knowledge, study visits and staff exchanges.
(16)
The Network and its initiatives should be funded through the PROGRESS/employment section of the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation' (‘EaSI’) established by Regulation (EU) No 1296/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5), within the appropriations set by the European Parliament and the Council.
(17)
For projects developed by the Network or identified in the mutual learning activities and then implemented in the individual PES, Member States should have access to funding from the European Social Fund (ESF), the Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and ‘Horizon 2020’, the Union's Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-20) established by Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6).
(18)
The Network should ensure that it complements and does not replace nor duplicate actions undertaken as part of the European Employment Strategy within the meaning of Title IX of the Treaty, in particular those of EMCO and its tools such as the Joint Assessment Framework (JAF), as well as the Mutual Learning Programme. Furthermore, in order for synergies to be made, the Commission should ensure that the Secretariat of the Network cooperates closely with that of EMCO.
(19)
This Decision respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’). In particular, this Decision seeks to ensure full respect for the right of access to free placement services and to promote the application of Article 29 of the Charter,
