52014SC0010

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Accompanying the document

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council

on a European network of Employment Services, workers' access to mobility services and the further integration of labour markets

1.           Problem Definition

1.1.        Mobility for growth

Mobility generates social and economic benefits. Increased intra-EU labour mobility will widen employment opportunities for workers and help employers fill vacancies better and faster. This contributes to the development of a European labour market with a high level of employment (Article 9 TEU). More integrated labour markets would enable the EU interdependent economies to better adjust to asymmetric shocks.

1.2.        Workers increased readiness to be mobile not realised

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.  The registrations on the EURES portal also show an increase.  

Today only about 325.000 persons on average move annually to work in another Member State, whilst extrapolations on the surveys show that about 2.9 million EU citizens would like to move in the following 12 months (1.2M of the EU population). This represents a significant mobility potential and a challenge for the EURES network.

The most common practical difficulties expected or encountered are the lack of relevant language skills to take up employment and the difficulties in finding a job. The EU can contribute to 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 EURES network. 

1.3.        The EURES network

EURES is a cooperation network between the European Commission and the Public Employment Services (PES) of the European Economic Area (EEA) Member States (the EU Member States plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) for exchanging vacancies and facilitating intra-EU labour mobility. Five principal shortcomings in the functioning of the EURES network exist today:

– an incomplete pool of vacancies and CVs accessible at EU level for all Member States (transparency of labour markets);

– 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 the EURES network 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 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 labour market information exchange between Member States on national labour shortages and surpluses, hampering a more targeted practical cooperation in the EURES network (information exchange and cooperation) .

1.3.1.     Incomplete pool of vacancies and CVs accessible at EU level

It is estimated that, on average, only around 30% of the national vacancies are put on the EURES Portal. This ratio differs widely across countries, from 80% from the Czech Republic to 0% from Bulgaria and Croatia[1].

Currently no automated electronic exchange of CVs or other job seeker profile information is taking place at European level. Exchange of CVs is manual between EURES advisers. The number of CVs covered by this practice is low and the matching capability following from it is thus very limited. The lack of transparency on CVs limits the opportunities for employers to find potential candidates with the required and desired skills and competences. Not only does it limit their self-service opportunities, it also limits the efficiency of the support they are provided with by EURES Advisers as they have to depend on indirect access to CVs via EURES Advisers in other countries, rather than having direct access.

1.3.2.     Limited capability of the EURES portal

A high quality matching at EU level of vacancies with jobseekers requires a suitable classification system and agreed common standards on both vacancy and CV information. Currently, the EURES portal, like many national systems, uses International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO).

ISCO is not detailed enough as an instrument to support matching for employment. The European Commission is developing a European classification on skills, competences, qualifications and occupations (for now called ESCO). Member States are not obliged to ensure mapping between their national systems and this European classification to allow for European automated matching.

1.3.3.     Uneven access to EURES services across the EU

The lack of a consistent approach to the organisation of basic information provided to potential users and the access to EURES services may lead to a risk of missing out of mobility and employment opportunities because users are not fully aware of which services they can expect or that services end at national borders as there is no counterpart providing the necessary service in the other country.

1.3.4.     Mobility support services

Current EURES services have three limitations: (a) the bulk of the services consists of information and guidance of a general nature and does not support matching, placement or recruitment; (b) access to active labour market measures (ALMPs) for out-bound mobility is not safeguarded and (c) there is inadequate interaction and/or coordination with services addressing other mobility obstacles, such as those related to social security and social assistance.

1.3.5.     Information exchange and cooperation

Member States may adjust their mobility policies in light of economic developments affecting their national labour markets but this is not done systematically and certainly not in consultation with other Member States. There should be tools and procedures to jointly examine the intelligence to support the development of a concerted reply.

Effective trans-national co-operation on intra-EU labour mobility pre-supposes an agreement on common objectives (a shared vision) and a framework for the coordination between Member States at operational level, implying systematic and intensive information sharing, common tools and a clear distribution of responsibilities. Neither agreement on common objectives nor a framework for coordination is in place today.

1.4.        Who is affected and how

The groups most affected are workers, in particular jobseekers, and employers

Firm intentions among workers to be mobile are not realised. Limited transparency of vacancies and insufficient support to overcome practical difficulties, such as finding a job and adjusting to the culture and language of other Member States, hinders voluntary exercising of the right of freedom of movement of workers.

Employers do not have access to the talent pool available on the European labour market. This is especially concerning for employers with open vacancies considered bottleneck occupations on their local labour market but where jobseekers with the right skills and competences are available elsewhere in the Union.

1.5.        The need for intervention

The main causes of the shortcomings are related to the current framework for EURES:

– Unclear obligations of Member States, leading to a wide scope for interpretation and allowing Member States to avoid transmitting all vacancies and pertinent labour market information, to maintain administrative barriers and red-tape in the access of both jobseekers and employers to the EU labour market information;

– Insufficient willingness of Member States to voluntarily provide services to jobseekers and employers relating to intra-EU labour mobility, particularly in terms of delivery of vacancies to the EURES portal, of visibility of European vacancies on national job portals, of access to mobility support services;

– Over-reliance on voluntary Member State collaboration for the functioning of the EURES network as a whole, leading to insufficient progress towards building up collaborative systems, notably on the automatic sharing of CVs, on co-opting private employment services in the EURES system at national level, on rolling out a common service catalogue of mobility;

– Absence of a coherent approach on how and where EURES, as a decentralised network for transnational co-operation, comes into action, leaving Member States to operate in a grey zone as to the European and national interests, in the absence of mobility policies steering the coordination of actions between Member States within the EURES network; 

– Limited coordination powers of the Commission, severely constraining the policy levers to address the gaps in the functioning of the EURES network, notably on developing the tools and means for clearance and the analysis of labour market intelligence.

2.           Analysis of subsidiarity

The legal basis of EURES is to be found in Articles 45 and 46 TFEU and in particular in Article 46 TFEU that refers to a close cooperation between national employment services and provides for the setting up of an appropriate machinery to bring offers of employment in touch with applications for employment.

This initiative respects the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. The individual specific measures in this proposal are closely interconnected. They reinforce each other and will together make the EURES network an effective instrument for any job seeker or employer interested in intra-EU labour mobility. The set of measures is deemed appropriate in light of the situation of unemployed people on the labour markets, the needs addressed by job seekers (“firm intentions”) and the (technological) evolutions on the vacancy and recruitment markets.

As clearance of job vacancies, job applications and CVs across borders and the resultant placement of workers both presuppose a common framework for co-operation between organisations in different Member States, the objective of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by Member States alone and action at EU level is therefore required.

The measures do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives.

The freedom of movement of workers constitutes a fundamental right and the aim of this instrument is to strengthen it by facilitating the exercise of it.

3.           Objectives

The general objective of this initiative is to further move towards an integrated European labour market. This implies making EURES an effective instrument for any EU worker, job seeker or employer interested in intra-EU labour mobility.

To achieve this general objective, the following specific objectives have been identified:

1.           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;

2.           To enable the EURES portal to carry out a good automated matching between job vacancies, job applications and CV's, translating in all EU languages and understanding skills, competences, occupations and qualifications acquired at national level;

3.           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; 

4.           To assist any such person interested with matching, placement and recruitment through the EURES network;

5.           To support the functioning of the EURES network through information exchange on national labour shortages and surpluses and the co-ordination of actions across Member States.

4.           Policy Options

4.1.        Option 1: "No new action"

The adaptations already initiated (Commission EURES Decision 2012) in the functioning of the network, the organisation of work between the different actors, the operational objectives of EURES and the definition of the services offers will continue within the scope of existing Regulation 492/2011 as it stands today.

4.2.        Option 2: "Lisbonisation"

This option aims at a quick resolution of the request lodged by the European Parliament without introducing any further changes as compared to the status quo. It would entail two successive actions: first replacing Article 38 of Regulation 492/2011 and approving the subsequent amendment of this Regulation when it comes to the powers to be conferred to the Commission for implementation of Regulation 492/2011 in line with the new provisions of the Lisbon Treaty and second launching the procedure for a new EURES Decision in accordance with the revised Regulation.

4.3.        Option 3: "Modernising and Strengthening EURES"

This option will reinforce the EURES regulatory framework combining a modernisation of the provisions on the machinery on the clearance of vacancies and applications for employment with the reinforcement of the delivery of the EURES service offer and the rationalisation of the functioning of the EURES network.

Under this option the legal basis of EURES will be integrated in a single Regulation, existing obligations will be strengthened and new ones with regards to the following aspects will be added:

· Transparency of labour markets (Transparency): The current obligations to exchange vacancies will be reinforced and clarified by the introduction of obligations for the Member States (a) to make available to EURES all vacancies published nationally; (b) to make available to EURES CVs of all willing jobseekers and (c) to make the EURES portal linked to, clearly visible on and searchable through all national job search portals, thereby facilitating the access to European vacancies at proximity level.

· Enhanced interoperability (Automated matching potential): Member States will be obliged to ensure full interoperability according to technical standards and formats between national systems and the EURES portal. The obligation to ensure interoperability defines the uniform system of the Regulation, and requires them to use for the delivery of vacancies and CVs technical standards and formats, also in relation to the mapping to and from classifications.

· Mainstreaming: Member States will ensure that all job seekers and employers who are requesting client services with an employment service, receive or are made aware of basic information on the EURES network and that they are explicitly requested whether they would like to have further assistance (“EURES offer”).

· Improved workers’ access to mobility support services (support services): Member States must ensure access to job search and recruitment assistance to all jobseekers and employers that have indicated that they would like to make use of the EURES network. Furthermore, access to active labour market measures (ALMPs) must be independent of the nationality of EU worker or the location of employment. In addition, specific information and assistance (referrals to competent authority) must be provided in relation to social security.

· Information exchange and cooperation:  Member States will be obliged to a) exchange labour market intelligence; b) coordinate action according to the intelligence gathered. 

4.4.        Option 4: "Option 3 plus EU partnership agreements""

Option 4 includes the modernisation of the EURES network as described in option 3, and adds a mandate for the Commission to enter EU-wide partnerships with non-public employment services.

Under option 3 the Member States act as gatekeepers for the access of non-public employment services to the EURES network. Under Option 4 the Commission will also be empowered to provide partnership agreements on an equal footing with the Member States for the For these service providers, the Commission would also take over accompanying Member States duties regarding quality assurance, ensuring inter-operability, etc. listed in 5.3.

5.           Assessment of Impacts

5.1.        Option 1: No new action

Overall the reform process initiated with the 2012 EURES Decision will be maintained. However, the speed of its implementation will be reduced as the pending Court Case has introduced legal uncertainty in the process.

If the Commission waits until the Court takes a decision, it – implicitly – signals to the parties involved, that reform efforts may eventually be delayed.

This means that this option would destabilise and delay the modest reform of the 2012 Decision and obviously none of the shortcomings identified above would be addressed.

5.2.        Option 2: Lisbonisation

This option requires the Commission to act quickly in regards to launching the procedure for a Decision in accordance to the revised Regulation to confirm EURES's continued commitment to the 2012 reform.

Revising Article 38 of Regulation 492/2011 will provide a foundation for further amendments of the EURES network. It will enable the Commission in the future to adopt implementing and/or delegated acts based on chapter II of the Regulation. As such, it provides a basis for further reforms. Such reforms, however, will be limited to non-essential elements or implementation measures, as they cannot go beyond the current scope of the Regulation.

This option could provide an adequate basis for continuing with the transparency on the labour markets and to a degree with mainstreaming.

However, the option would not fully resolve shortcomings on automated matching, in the absence of an obligation on mapping between national and the European classification, on mainstreaming, in the absence of an obligation to provide basic information and referral in all situations where employers and job seekers request client services for recruitment, on support services, in the absence of a formal agreed package of services, and information exchange and co-operation, in the absence of a clear definition of the scope of the exchange of information on labour market intelligence. This option will therefore not resolve fully four of the identified shortcomings.

5.3.        Option 3: Modernising and Strengthening EURES

5.3.1.     Transparency

Impacts

Increasing the number of job vacancies exchanged and circulated on European level will enhance the chances for jobseekers to find open positions. The number of additional vacancies that will be made available is difficult to assess in the absence of a comprehensive overview of the different agreements with non-PES actors in Member States and missing data on the size of the vacancies with PES at decentralised levels.

A more systematic approach to the collection and sharing of job applications and CVs on the EURES portal will improve the chances for employers that suitable candidates are available for their vacancies.

Having EURES vacancies made visible on national job search portals will provide jobseekers with easier access to European employment opportunities. As the national job search portals are the natural first place to search for work, presenting clearly visible the option to search for European vacancies provides jobseekers with a more complete picture of the opportunities for employment.

Costs

All Member States have already set up (or prepared for) the mechanism to exchange vacancies with EURES. The extension of these mechanisms to include CV information will cause costs, the amount of which will however depend on a number of factors. If the existing systems can be extended to include CVs the cost can be relatively low; if an entirely new system needs to be put in place the costs will be much higher. Most of the software needed will be delivered by the Commission free of charge. As a rough estimate the cost to develop a new system could be around 100,000 EUR with annual maintenance costs of around 12,000 EUR.

With API every EURES service provider is able to implement EURES data back to its on line service for low costs. The integration is estimated at some days of work for 3 or 4 people.

5.3.2.     Automated matching

Impact

The benefits of common European standards are obvious: it allows job seekers and employers in a much better way to actually understand the profile of the market counterpart. Such a European level standard of job-descriptions and profiles of seekers would be a huge step towards a more integrated European labour market and at the same time make it more attractive for workers and employers from different countries to use the EURES portal.

Completing mapping to ESCO by all EURES service providers will facilitate the EU-wide matching of people to jobs while taking into account the individual skills profiles of jobseekers and the specific needs of employers. Since ESCO will be multilingual, the language of labour market information is less relevant.

Costs

Adaptation of existing IT systems to full European semantic interoperability will incur initial costs. For those PES (such as France and the Czech Republic) which have their own classification systems which include both occupations, and skills and competences the required mapping inventory to and from ESCO can be done as part of the regular updates which are necessary for such systems. For the other PES (approximately 80% of all), who use classifications of occupations based on ISCO, a separate inventory exercise will need to be undertaken.

The exact costs of mapping are difficult to calculate and will differ much between Member States, depending on the system in place. In fact, having a well performing matching system is an elementary and crucial feature of up-to-date-labour market institutions and the cost for setting up and maintaining such a system should therefore not be directly attributed to the EURES reform alone. Consequently, the EURES reform must be seen as an opportunity but not the reason for implementing such a system.

The option of transfer out of their current classifications and fully adopt ESCO remains open for all. This would remove any future maintenance and update costs for national classifications.

5.3.3.     Mainstreaming

Impacts

A common and more systematic approach to integrating EURES in the service offer would ensure that all interested jobseekers and employers across the EU have basically the same level of access to EURES and receive clear and complete information on what EURES can do, when and how.

Extending the provision of basic information to cover all employment services offering client services will multiply the effect of the information provision on the EURES network to jobseekers and employers and thereby increase matching opportunities beyond the current share of PES. As this concerns the main tool to secure access to the key target groups, it should be made applicable not only to public employment services and this regardless of whether such employment services choose to request participation and are accepted as EURES service providers (EURES Partners) or not.

Costs

As EURES information can be included in the standard processes for managing clients, both for the PES and possible other EURES service providers, the administrative costs should be low.

Member States with reasonably well-developed EURES networks will not see their costs increase, as either service levels are already at or above the potential requirements or because there are enough resources available within the national EURES networks. PES that have successfully mainstreamed EURES are already informing jobseekers through their standardised processes. 

5.3.4.     Support services

Impact

Expanding the EURES service offer with targeted mobility support services will help workers overcome obstacles to mobility, as they lack the necessary economic resources to fully realise their potential on or present their attractiveness to the labour market.

Removing the geographical limitations on national labour market programmes for job seekers interested in working in another EU Member State provide EURES staff with the same tools as available on the national labour markets to ease transition into work and help with filling of vacancies. It will therefore provide workers with more opportunities.

The envisaged provisions will help employers to fill their vacancies faster, as the EURES network will complement more effectively the domestic employment services. Through the EURES network, a wider pool of candidates will be available, increasing the potential of finding candidates with suitable skills. SMEs will benefit in particular from strengthening the services for employers as it will reduce the time for recruitment and lower in general transactions costs.

The improvements, including in particular the support subsequent to recruitment, will be more important for SMEs than for big enterprises, which have often set up their own systems to recruit and integrate workers from abroad. For them also paying for this kind of support is less of an issue, while SMEs might be less willing or able to do so.

Costs

The bulk of the costs arise through individual mobility support services, i.e. assistance to job seekers and employers. Those costs depend on the nature of the delivery and the individual needs. As such they are variable and in direct relation to bringing people into employment. The EURES training programme funded by the Commission under EaSI can cover training of staff to refocus activities on matching, placement and recruitment.

As far as access to active labour market measures (ALMPs) and in particular language courses are concerned, internal estimates come to 50-250 euro per participant. This would cover in principle online courses taking approximately 6 months and involving some online tutoring (irrespective of level). However, cost is currently going down for all languages on the market and economies of scale may play a part.

On the basis of a number of assumptions, a ball park estimate comes the overall annual additional cost on information and job search assistance of about 33,3 million for information and 16 million for job search assistance.

The national activities, in particular the functioning of the EURES network at the national level (National Coordination Office) and the development of schemes for customised mobility support services at local, regional, national and cross-border level, will be eligible for funding under the European Social Fund (ESF) in the period 2014-2020, in accordance with the appropriate investment priorities.

There may be possibilities for Member States to shift the existing EURES staff from more general information and communication activities on the EURES network to matching, placement and recruitment. The more than 900 EURES advisers in the network should in principle all become intra-EU matching experts and focus on recruitment outcomes. Their general information activities can be expected to become less relevant as the mainstreaming will in the future bring the customers and, where general promotion activities still remain necessary, they can be reduced or altogether left to the front line /less specialized staff and/or to e-services.

5.3.5.     Governance of EURES and cooperation between employment services

Impact

With structured reporting and monitoring, feeding in appropriate labour market intelligence on surpluses and shortages on the labour market, the PES and the other EURES service providers (EURES Partners) will have the necessary information to jointly plan coordinated activities within the EURES network, for instance ensuring that activities are targeted at the sectors where their contributions will be most efficient. Joint planning will also ensure that there is a counterpart support in another Member State, e.g. increased targeted mobility support to a specific group of EU workers in a sending country is met by required support those EU workers in the receiving country.

Costs

There would be an initial cost for Member States to set up the information system including service costs (revision of underlying data collection mechanisms in PES and review of business processes). There would be possibly IT and training costs related to adjusted business processes, review or introduction of data protocols with non-PES actors and appropriate consultation processes at national level.

5.4.        Policy option 4: Option 3 plus EU wide partnerships with Private Employment Services

Impacts

With such an EU-level authorisation mechanism, better access to the provision of labour mobility services can be assured regardless of national considerations. This would presumably increase the number of EURES service providers (EURES Partners) compared to the option where new service providers are only agreed at Member States' level within the framework of national authorisation systems. Beyond the scope of the impact on the EURES network, this option could have two broader repercussions on the market for employment services.  

There are a series of concerns related to the role of the Commission and the relationship between the Commission and individual Member States:

Firstly, there is a risk that the expanded role of the Commission will interfere with the role of individual Member States. Secondly, the Commission would take direct responsibility for quality assurance for the activities carried out by the service providers authorised, while no such functions exist today within the Commission services. Thirdly, the outcome will depend much on the willingness of the concerned actors, in particular the PrES, to engage in a new form of co-operation, to recognise the benefits in participating in the EURES network as well as on the need for the Commission to find as much as possible common ground with all possibly concerned PrES players.

Costs

Setting up this system at EU level would be relatively costly in terms of staff implications for the Commission. While managing the relations with only the major PrES active on the European labour market is probably feasible without much additional staff cost, having the EU system becoming the preferred option for a more substantial number of PrES will require an increase in staff dedicated to the EURES network.

6.           Comparison of Options

Objectives || Option 1 No action || Option 2 Lisbonisation || Option 3 New Regulation || Option 4 New Regulation plus EU partnership agreements

To achieve on the EURES portal a virtually complete supply of job vacancies, with job seekers all over Europe having readily access to the same vacancies (…) || Stagnating - No increase in the quantity of the vacacny pool expected, except in case of voluntary efforts || Positive + Potential for an increase in the quantity of the vacancy pool, where implementing acts on sharing more data are introduced   || Very positive ++ Reinforced obligation for MS to make all vacancies available Possibility for additional vacancies due to cooperation with PrES at national level || Highly positive +++ Reinforced obligation for MS to make all vacancies available Beyond Possibility, assurance of additional vacancies following EU agreements with key PrES across EU

(…) in combination with an an extensive pool of CV's available from which registered employers can recruit || Stagnating - No increase in the CV pool expected, except in case of voluntary efforts || Positive + Potential for an increase in the quantity of the CV pool, where implementing acts on sharing more data are introduced || Very positive ++ Obligation on MS to make CV's available Possibility for additional efforts due to cooperation with PrES at national level || Highly positive +++ Obligation on MS to make CV's available. Beyond possibility, assurance of additional efforts following EU agreements with key PrES players at EU level

To enable the EURES portal to carry out a good automated matching between job vacancies, job applications and CV's, translating in all EU languages and understanding skills, competences, occupations and qualifications required at national level || Positive + Possibilty of good matching, assuming voluntary adherence of most if not all MS to ESCO standards  || Positive + Possibility of good matching, assuming voluntary adherence of most if not all MS to ESCO standards || Very positive ++ New obligation for mapping ESCO will ensure good automated matching both EU wide and to the benefit of all MS nationally || Very positive ++ New obligation for mapping ESCO will ensuregood  automated matching both EU wide and to the benefit of all MS nationally

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 || Neutral 0 Individual efforts to mainstream are expected to be continued in according to national needs and organisational set-up || Neutral 0 Individual efforts to mainstream are expected to be continued according to national needs and organisational set-up || Positive + Equal treatment of workers and employers and common approach on basic information and who should be given access to the EURES network across the EU || Positive + Equal treatment of workers and employers and common approach on basic information and who should be given access to the EURES network across the EU

To assist any such person interested with matching, placement and recruitment through the EURES network || Neutral 0 Individual efforts to provide mobility support services according to national interpretation are expected to continue || Neutral 0 Individual efforts to provide mobility support services according to national interpreation are expected to continue || Positive + Equal treatment of interested workers and employers and common definition of scope of mobility support services they can receive || Positive + Equal treatment of interested workers and employers and common definition of  scope of mobility support services they can receive

To support the functioning of the EURES network through information exchange on national surpluses and shortages and the co-ordination of actions across Member States || Neutral 0 Possibility to build on the common approach on programming under the 2012 Decision || Neutral 0 Possibility to build on the common approach on programming under the 2012 Decision || Positive + Comprehensive framework on information exchange  and co-ordination of EURES activity || Very positive ++ Comprensive framework on information exchange and co-ordination of EURES activity Assurance of additional data following EU partnership agreements with key PrES players at EU level

Effectiveness || 0 || + || ++ || - Concerns related to the role of the Commission and the relationship between the Commission and individual Member States

Costs || No additional costs || No additional costs || Additional costs for Member States and the Commission || Additional costs for Member States and the Commission

Only option 3 and 4 will produce additional positive effects. Under option 4 the likelihood of such effects is much higher, given the situation on how the EURES network would be opened up. However, at this stage of the development of EURES as a tool for the functioning of the European labour markets implementing option 4 entails a series of concerns related to the role of the Commission and the relationship between the Commission and individual Member States. Whilst this option cannot be excluded for the future, in this or a slightly alternative form, it is deemed to be prudent to first implement a comprehensive EURES reform and after a review assess the need for a more integrated solution. Consequently, option 3 is considered as the most effective and therefore best option.

7.           Monitoring and Evaluation

The existing arrangements for data collection and sharing information within the EURES network on inputs, outputs and outcomes will be reinforced. To reinforce the data collection on outputs and outcomes, there will a set of common indicators, adding to the existing data sources such as the above monthly reports new sources, such as customer satisfaction surveys developed at national level. Developments within the PES, including modernisation and efficiency operations, will be monitored through the activities of the PES network and the mutual learning programme PES to PES dialogue. Inclusion on the development of EURES within PES is foreseen, in particular in regards to mainstreaming of EURES services. Using the information gathered accordingly, the Commission will submit every two years an implementation report. An ex-post evaluation, discussing the effectiveness of the new Regulation will be carried out 5 years after its adoption.

[1]               BG, HR: Lack of technical interoperability between the national systems and EURES. Work is on-going to remedy the situation.