(1)

Regulation (EU) 2016/589 calls for an efficient system at Union level for exchanging information on national, regional and sectorial labour supply and demand to be set up between the Commission and the Member States and to be used as a basis for Member States to underpin practical cooperation within the EURES network.

(2)

Article 30(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/589 requires Member States to collect and analyse gender disaggregated information on labour shortages and labour surpluses on national and sectorial labour markets, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable groups in the labour market and regions most affected by unemployment, and EURES activities at national and, where appropriate, cross-border level.

(3)

Article 31(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/589 requires the National Coordination Offices to draw up national work programmes for the activities of the EURES network in their Member States. The sharing of the national work programmes under a programming cycle among Member States should enable the National Coordination Offices to direct the resources of the EURES network towards appropriate actions and projects and thereby steer the development of the network as a more result-oriented tool responsive to the needs of workers and employers according to the dynamics of the labour markets.

(4)

The exchanges between National Coordination Offices and the European Coordination Office on their respective work programmes and a joint analysis of the drafts would improve the functioning of the network, increase transparency and enhance the cooperation opportunities within the network.

(5)

To give effect to Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2016/589, the National Coordination Offices should gather and examine the information available at national level referred to in this provision as part of the preparation of the national work programme and are invited to take into account any relevant reports and documents available at Union level.

(6)

Pursuant to Article 31(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/589 the national work programmes drafted by the National Coordination Offices should be developed on an annual basis and should specify the main activities to be carried out within the EURES network, the overall human and financial resources allocated for their implementation and the arrangements for the monitoring and evaluation of the activities planned.

(7)

The European Commission shall establish a common template for national work programmes, the structure of which shall reflect the overall aim of Regulation (EU) 2016/589, to ensure that all Member States identify the main activities carried out in terms of the support services to both workers and employers referred to in Articles 21 to 28 of Regulation (EU) 2016/589.

(8)

A common schedule for preparing national work programmes should be established, building on the experiences gained with cooperation on joint programming among National Coordination Offices under Commission Implementing Decision 2012/733/EU (2) and allowing for sufficient flexibility given different national set ups.

(9)

All potential synergies with the arrangements and procedures for the data collection and analysis of several areas of EURES activity carried out at national level pursuant to Article 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/589 should be exploited, in particular so that the national work programmes use indicators that build on existing practice within Public Employment Services and that are consistent and contribute to the data collection exercise referred to in the implementing acts to be adopted under Article 32(3) of Regulation (EU) 2016/589.

(10)

EURES staff in EURES Members and Partners should have access to the relevant information of national work programmes in order to better contribute to the achievements of the EURES network as established in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2016/589.

(11)

The information gathered under national work programmes on activities and results can constitute an important contribution to the preparation of the report on EURES activity the Commission is called to submit every two years pursuant to Article 33 of Regulation (EU) 2016/589 to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions and it is therefore necessary to examine which parts of the work programmes can be made available for this purpose,

(a)

gathering, analysing and sharing the necessary information pursuant to Article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2016/589 for the purpose of preparing their draft national work programme;

(b)

drafting their national work programme using the template in Annex I;

(c)

respecting the deadlines set out in Annex II for the submission of draft national work programmes;

(d)

making their draft national work programme available to the network using the means provided for by the European Coordination Office;

(e)

participating in the joint review exercise of draft national work programmes with a view to finalising such programmes and increasing practical cooperation in delivering the support services to workers and employers;

(f)

finalising the national work programme after the joint review;

(g)

updating the national work programme whenever necessary and making the updates available to the network using the means provided for by the European Coordination Office;

(h)

reporting on the implementation of activities laid down in the national work programme respecting the deadlines set out in Annex II;

(a)

sharing information relevant for Article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2016/589 which is available at Union level with the National Coordination Offices to assist them with the preparation of their draft national work programmes;

(b)

developing and maintaining a tool on the EURES portal Extranet that makes available to the National Coordination Offices the template referred to in Article 7 and any related information on how to fill it in and submit it and provides the National Coordination Offices with an opportunity to review and comment on each other's national draft work programmes;

(c)

supervising the application of the deadlines set out in Annex II for the submission of draft national work programmes, the joint review exercise and the reporting on the implementation of national work programmes;

(d)

providing any other tools, training and support necessary to facilitate exchange of information and mutual learning on the programming cycle;

(e)

making available to the whole EURES network through a dedicated section on the EURES portal Extranet the relevant elements of the programming cycle with a view to increase transparency and mutual learning;

(f)

encourage National Coordination Offices to ensure consistency between the application of Article 31 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/589;

(g)

keeping the Coordination Group regularly informed on the functioning of the programming cycle and, where necessary, propose modifications to the template and the procedures.

(a)

providing data on their financial and human resources available and activities planned that will feed into the national work programme;

(b)

implementing the relevant activities of the national work programme;

(c)

providing data on the implementation of their activities that will feed into the national activity report.