52012SC0100

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT

Reforming EURES to meet the goals of Europe 2020

Accompanying the document

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Towards a job-rich recovery

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1........... Introduction.................................................................................................................... 3

2........... EURES –the tool for intra EU recruitment and placement................................................. 3

3........... Timing and elements of the EURES reform...................................................................... 6

4........... Outline of the Commission Decision on EURES............................................................... 8

5........... The way forward.......................................................................................................... 13

Disclaimer: This document is a European Commission staff working document for information purposes. It does not represent an official position of the Commission on this issue, nor does it anticipate such a position.

1.           Introduction

Intra EU labour mobility can simultaneously increase economic activity and employment levels[1] by helping overcome mismatches and imbalances on the labour market and making them function dynamically and more efficiently. Geographic mobility is also a potential source of economic growth[2] that helps improve the (re)allocation of resources by acting as an adjustment mechanism for distorted labour markets whilst also enabling economies to better cope with sudden shocks.

Limited geographic mobility has been identified in the 2012 Annual Growth Survey as one of the reasons for the structural mismatch between the supply and demand for labour and a hindrance for recovery and long-term growth. The labour matching process has deteriorated since 2009 with the number of unfilled vacancies on the increase since mid-2009 and unemployment at record levels[3]. Only 2.8% of the EU working age citizens (15-64) live in a Member State different from the one of their nationality. This figure is insufficient[4] when considered against a free movement area of 25 Member States and the pressing need to develop a dynamic and well-functioning European labour market.

The present economic situation calls for bold action at European and national level to stimulate intra-EU mobility in order to remedy labour shortages and bottlenecks vacancies in high growth areas and persistently high unemployment in other regions. The EU needs more labour mobility nationally and across borders. A strengthened EURES will facilitate mobility and direct jobseekers and job changers to where the jobs are, as well as providing an easier and real-time access to these jobs and presenting employers, notably SMEs, with a living pool of candidates where they can find the skills they need to develop and grow their businesses.

2.           EURES –the tool for intra EU recruitment and placement

Set up in 1993, EURES is the European network for worker mobility involving the European Commission and the public employment services (PES) of the EEA Member States (the EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and social partners' organisations. The EURES network is responsible for exchanging information and enabling cooperation among its stakeholders in order to allow for the freedom of movement of workers across the EU. The main legal basis of EURES is provided for in Chapter II of Regulation (EU) 492/2011 (recent codification of Council Regulation 1612/68).

The EURES objectives were defined in 1968 in the Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 which stipulated that:

"the central employment services of the Member States shall cooperate closely with each other and with the Commission with a view to acting jointly as regards the clearing of vacancies and applications for employment within the Union and the resultant placing of workers in employment"[5].

EURES is in effect European network between the European Commission and the Public Employment Services of the EEA Member States (the EU Member States plus Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein) and partner organisations. Switzerland also takes part in EURES.

To date the services offered by EURES consist of information, advice and assistance for placement and recruitment. This may include databases on job vacancies, job search, living and working conditions as well as personalised services throughout the Union. Personalised services are provided in particular by EURES advisers, who have received specialised training and who deliver information and advice about all issues related to the free movement of workers to job seekers, job changers and employers. These services are provided free of charge to all persons benefiting from the freedom of movement in accordance with European Union law.[6]

Transforming EURES into an employment instrument with a special focus on placement[7] and paying special attention to the needs of employers is fully consistent with its legal base - Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 now codified by Regulation EU No 492/2011. The post-crisis situation affecting EU labour markets is characterised by a growing need for intra-EU-mobility and calls for a firmer contribution of all tools and instruments to improve labour market performance in line with the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The external evaluation of EURES completed in 2010 brought to light a need to reform the EURES service delivery[8]. With all these developments in mind, the Commission is proposing a major reform of EURES consisting of several elements.

EURES will be reformed in order to bring it up to speed with the challenges posed by the post-crisis labour market scenario. In this respect, it will first and foremost be transformed into an instrument effectively contributing to the Europe 2020 goals. It will thus be expanded to support both specific groups of workers with a high propensity for mobility, as well as employers experiencing recruitment difficulties on their domestic turf.

EURES should combine a supply and demand driven approach by keeping its original function as transparency tool, serving both the right to free movement of workers and the needs of employers experiencing recruitment difficulties. At the same time the delivery capacity of EURES and its result-orientation need to be strengthened. Finally, EURES shall contribute to increasing the intra-European job mobility rate by providing easier and actual access to more employment opportunities and support to employers in recruiting the talents and skills they are looking for.

The EURES on-line portal gathers job vacancies processed by national Public Employment Services covering an estimated 30- 40% of the overall European job vacancy market. EURES allows access to more than 1 million vacancies and on average 750 000 CVs are live in the system at any one time in a given month. The number of monthly visits is circa 3, 6 million thus making it the most frequently visited site of any initiative run by the European Commission. EURES also caters for the delivery of personal client services in the fields of information, advice and placements. EURES member organisations in the EEA countries and more than 20 EURES cross-border partnerships are offering these services through a network of more than 850 EURES advisers; altogether they have more than 150 000 contacts per month to jobseekers and employers Unfortunately though, skills shortages and bottleneck vacancies in high growth areas still coexist with persistent unemployment, which indicates that spatial mismatches remain and prevent vacancies from being made available to workers with the right skills This points to a, an insufficient linkage of EURES with the wider employment aims and objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy. The June 2010 Special Eurobarometer survey on "Geographical and labour market mobility" found that whilst 12% of Europeans have heard of EURES only 2% have actually used it. This is rather low when considering that 34% of Europeans think that their chances of finding a job abroad are better than in their own countries while close to one Europeans in five envisages working abroad in the future. Moreover, with only 25 000 employers registered and an estimated 150 000 job placements/recruitments per year[9] , EURES has not yet realised its full potential. Against this backdrop, the EURES reform seeks to take full advantage of the untapped employment opportunities available and by better reaching out and serving the employer community. This shall be done by re-orienting the EURES portal and EURES national program activities towards labour demand needs and in particular under-serviced occupations. This is an essential next step in facilitating recruitment across borders and helping meet the employment goals of Europe 2020. The EURES reform will also mirror major changes taking place both in labour markets (new patterns of mobility and career paths, faster, frequent and more complex transitions between jobs, occupations, sectors and employment status) as well as in the field of employment service provision (new partnerships for better understanding labour demand and delivery of integrated tailor made services enhancing security of transitions). As a result, the growing number of actors involved in fighting unemployment (public, private, third sector, municipalities) will be encouraged to cooperate and interact so as to a) broaden the EURES coverage of vacancy markets[10], b) increase the EURES flexibility to adapt and adjust its services c) increase its effectiveness and efficiency for responding to all potential clients groups. The overarching goal of the reform should be the creation of a more integrated European jobs market.

3.           Timing and elements of the EURES reform

On 6 October 2011 the Commission presented a legislative package of EU regional, employment and social policy for 2014-2020. Two proposals are particularly relevant for EURES, one concerns its financing, the other its service delivery. It is proposed that from 2014 onwards the horizontal EURES activities would be covered under the EU Programme for Social Change and Innovation (PSCI)[11] and that the national and cross-border EURES activities implemented by its members and partners should be funded by the European Social Fund (ESF)[12], unless national authorities decide to use their own budgets.

3.1.        PSCI - Programme for Social Change and Innovation

The first element of the reform relates to the so-called 'horizontal activities' to be included in the future PSCI Programme: i.e. support activities initiated and partly carried out by the Commission such as training of EURES advisers, new and specific mutual learning (e.g. identification, exchange and transposition of EURES good practices, peer reviews among EURES actors…) to support all the actors of the EURES network[13] in boosting EURES capacity building while guaranteeing quality of EURES services in line with its recruitment logic, information and communication activities at EU level and the further development of the EURES Job Mobility Portal.

The operational objective for the EURES Job Mobility Portal will be to deliver modern user-friendly filtering, flagging and matching functionalities while making it the main entry point for any European jobseeker or employer considering working abroad or recruiting from another European country. The EURES portal and related IT systems will be further developed in order to fully support the services to be provided by the reformed EURES network via numerous channels including self-service tools, virtual jobs fairs and social media.

A new technical platform, using the ESCO classification[14] as a basis, will allow full interoperability[15] (semantic and syntactic) between EURES members and partners and other stakeholders for the exchange of all relevant information including job vacancies, CVs and other labour market related information, thus overcoming language barriers. The EURES portal will thus provide high quality services for skills-based matching, guidance, information and advice Any processing of personal data will comply with relevant legislation such as Directive 95/46/EC and Regulation (EC) N° 45/2001.

The PSCI also includes a proposal for expanding EURES to support targeted mobility schemes at EU level. Targeted mobility schemes combine a demand and supply driven approach by focusing either on a) countries with recruitment difficulties or b) occupations under particular strain or c) specific groups of workers facing difficulties entering the labour market such as young people.

The implementing organisations delivering services to jobseekers and employers will be selected in open call for proposals to which all employment services and labour market institutions with experience in offering employment services and developing partnerships for customer oriented service delivery across Europe will be able to apply. The Commission itself will not act as an employment service but shall ensure a strong coordination of these targeted mobility schemes and full respect for applicable labour law and standards. The Commission has opted for a 'broad' definition of the targeted mobility schemes to make these adaptable and flexible in the face of new emerging employment market demands. Targeted labour mobility schemes could be designed for certain sectors, occupations, countries or group of countries wherever a clear economic need is identified and Europe-wide recruitment could provide added value, for example in the area of bottleneck vacancies and niche vacancies for which recruitment difficulties have been identified.

The type of tailor made and client oriented support measures offered under the targeted mobility schemes will be defined in the corresponding calls for proposals; these will be based on the provisions of article 11.2 of PSCI and should include services in the areas of information, advice, job search, matching, post-placements assistance as well as limited financial support for the jobseekers and the employers. A preparatory action for these schemes - named Your First EURES Job[16] - is currently being carried out. The lessons learned from the implementation of Your First EURES Job will be taken into account when designing the call for proposals for the targeted mobility schemes.

3.2.        ESF – the European Social Fund

The second element of the reform covers the national and cross-border EURES activities that traditionally formed the bulk of all EURES activities and which should be further strengthened in the future. From 2014 onwards these EURES activities could be funded under the European Social Fund (ESF) under shared management. This will considerably increase the ownership of Member States in relation to EURES activities while providing a significant administrative simplification and allowing for mainstreaming of EURES into the service offer of the Public Employment Services and EURES partners.

Member States may include their EURES activities in relevant priorities of their Operational Programmes. This choice will enable access to bigger funding possibilities and boost ownership by allowing Member States to tailor their EURES service offer to the specific needs of their own labour markets. Moreover, it will allow them to integrate EURES activities with other activities promoting a more effective matching between labour demand and supply, as part of the national efforts towards modernising labour market institutions and public administration. Both types of EURES services (universal actions in the sense of Regulation No 492/2011 and complementary actions based on specific economic needs) will be eligible for support. Regulation No 492/2011 defines EURES cross-border partnerships[17] as complementary services that Member States can set up, if their services are needed.

Member States will decide themselves how to include the different types of EURES services in the ESF Operational Programmes and to which extent they will make use of the funding from ESF. The national or regional ESF Managing Authorities will be required to be closely involved in the future governance of EURES.

In its proposal for the ESF Regulation the Commission has defined transnational labour mobility as one of its top investment priorities. Further guidance on Member States programming will be provided in the Common Strategic Framework (CSF) 2014-2020; the CSF translates the objectives and targets of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth into key actions for the EU structural funds, and in particular for the ESF and the ERDF. The Commissions proposal for the CSF indicates that transnational labour mobility activities are EURES activities in the areas of matching, recruitment and placement, together with the related information, advice and guidance services at national and cross-border level.

4.           Outline of the Commission Decision on EURES

The third element of the reform of EURES is the Commission Decision implementing Regulation (EU) No 492/2011 that should enter into force on 1 January 2014. The main components of the new decision are described in the following sections.

4.1.        The EURES network

As the new decision entails fundamental changes to the structure and governance of EURES the text makes it clear that the network is re-established and that the Decision 2003/8/EC is repealed.

4.2.        Objectives

From a legal point of view, the objective of EURES is to ensure a co-ordinated implementation of the provisions of Chapter II of Regulation (EU) No 492/2011 on freedom of movement for workers within the Union.

This means in practice that EURES should ensure that the obligations put on Member states by the Regulation, namely to undertake a "Clearance of vacancies and applications for employment" as well as the exchange and provision of labour market related information is fulfilled in an efficient and effective manner, fully respecting applicable labour standards and legal requirements (fair mobility).

The decision will translate these obligations into operational terms by defining the composition of the network, the roles and responsibilities of the various actors, the services to provide and the governance structure. It is not possible to define in detail the catalogue of services, operational objectives and quality standards etc. in a document like the Commission Decision These definitions will therefore be reflected in a new EURES Charter that will replace both the current EURES Charter and the three-yearly EURES guidelines.

4.3.        Composition of the network

The current EURES network consists of Members and Partners. Members are the Commission and what the Regulation refers to as "specialist services" that the Member States must appoint. The term "specialist services" has in practice been interpreted as the Public Employment Services at national level. EURES Partners can, among other things be employment services at regional and cross-border level and social partners organisations. This category has in particular encompassed the EURES cross-border partnerships.

The new Decision will make important changes in this respect and the reformed EURES will comprise four categories of actors:

· The European Commission

· The EURES members. Each Member State should still designate a EURES member, who would be the "specialist services", referred to in the Regulation, but the roles and responsibilities of the EURES members will be different from today. The EURES member should assume the role of a National Co-ordination Office and should not as such carry out any of the EURES services. The same organisation that has been appointed as the EURES member can, however also be a provider of EURES services, but will in that respect be considered a EURES partner. Effectively, a EURES member can also be a EURES partner if desired.

· The EURES Partners are the actual providers of EURES services to jobseekers and employers. In order to qualify as a EURES partner they must undertake to fulfil the roles and responsibilities laid down in the Decision, in particular to provide the obligatory Universal services that are further explained below. As the provision of these services is an obligation for the Member States there must at least be one EURES Partner in each country.

· The Associated EURES partners. Organisations that do not provide all the obligatory Universal services can nevertheless participate in the EURES network as Associated EURES partners under the responsibility of a EURES partner. For other EURES services that they do not offer themselves, a referral system to other EURES partners must be set up. This will ensure that clients will still have access to the full EURES service package.

4.4.        The European co-ordination office (EURESco)

The European Commission will ensure the overall co-ordination of the network and assist in helping it carry out the relevant activities. In concrete terms this will be done by providing horizontal support in terms of:

· Operation of the EURES Job Mobility portal and other IT services needed for the exchange and clearance of vacancies, CVs and other information and for external and internal communication

· Information and communication activities

· Training of EURES staff

· Facilitation of networking, mutual learning, exchange of good practice etc.

· Supporting the implementation of targeted labour mobility schemes, such as Your First EURES Job.

· To support the implementation of the Decision and the Regulation, the overall coordination of the EURES network and its activities will be reinforced. This will be to the benefit of the EURES network as it would reflect better the post crisis reality on the ground i.e. the needs of the growing number of actors involved in contributing to the Europe 2020 objectives and the major changes in labour markets and employment service provision. The national co-ordination offices and EURES partners will be called upon to actively participate in the development and implementation of such horizontal support activities to ensure ownership and an adequate roll out across the Union.

· Bearing in mind the increased demand for a high quality personalised service covering the full service package on matching, placement and recruitment, job descriptions and profiles for EURES advisers need to be updated and corresponding training activities to build a common service culture will need to be enhanced. Moreover, new communication activities could increase the awareness of the services provided by the network and the EURES Job Mobility Portal by targeting more and different categories of jobseekers, job changers and employers, thus reinforcing opportunities for employment through geographical labour mobility.

4.5.        The national coordination offices

The national coordination offices will be responsible for the organisation and coordination of the work of the EURES partners in their respective countries. They should in particular ensure that the technical and functional infrastructure is in place allowing for the exchange of vacancies, CVs etc.

The national co-ordination office will appoint EURES partners and supervise their activities, as well as plan and co-ordinate the activities of the national EURES network. The appointment of EURES partners is described in the following section.

As the designation of a national co-ordination office is an obligation following directly from the Regulation, Member States must ensure that the co-ordination office gets the staff and other resources necessary to carry out its tasks. There should be one National EURES co-ordinator in charge of the management of the office, assisted by a sufficient number of staff to ensure the coordination and provision of horizontal support to the national network.

4.6.        The EURES partners

EURES partners will be appointed by the National co-ordination offices. Organisations that would like to become EURES members should therefore apply to their respective national co-ordination office. Making use of the implementing powers conferred by article 38 of Regulation 492/2011 on freedom of movement for workers, the European Commission may also appoint EURES partners. This should, however, be exceptional, notably when an organisation that is not already a EURES partner is selected as beneficiary in a Commission call for proposals for a targeted labour mobility scheme. Even if the Partner has been appointed by the Commission the national co-ordination office should be responsible for co-ordination and supervision of its work in the context of EURES.

The appointment of EURES partners will be based on a transparent accreditation system designed to achieve best possible outreach both in terms of geographical and labour market coverage by ensuring an adequate participation of relevant employment services and labour market actors. The criteria for accreditation will be set at European level, but the accreditation will be carried out by the national co-ordination office / the Member State concerned. This would mean that, in principle, all organisations, whether public or private, meeting the criteria laid down in the accreditation system and undertaking to provide at least all the obligatory EURES services respecting the required service levels and other quality standards should be accepted as EURES partners, including in relation to the training of EURES advisers.

A EURES Partner should set up one or several contact points where the clients can access its services. Contact points should preferably comprise several channels, such as placement and recruitment offices, call centres, self service tools, online web sites etc. and could be operated by the EURES partner itself or in co-operation with other EURES Partners or Associated EURES partners. This could, for example, be the case with contact-points in cross-border regions.

Each contact point must clearly indicate which services in the EURES Service catalogue are available. It is not necessary for every contact point to provide all obligatory universal services but a EURES Partner must be able to provide these in their entirety. EURES partners must also be fully aware of the services provided by all other EURES partners so that clients can always be referred to the most appropriate EURES partner.

A EURES Partner must in particular participate in what in the Regulation is referred to as the "machinery for vacancy clearance". This means the exchange of "details of vacancies which could be filled by nationals of other Member States" and "details of applications for employment" which has been interpreted as including CVs of jobseekers potentially interested in working in another country. The Commission will develop and maintain the necessary IT solutions to allow for this exchange.

Subject to the above requirements, Member States could envisage developing different criteria and modalities for the participation of associated EURES Partners to reflect the national, territorial and institutional set-up and competences and build up the best possible composition of the national EURES network.

4.7.        EURES services

The full service package of EURES should cover all phases of the process leading to a placement, including recruitment, job matching, information and advice, from pre-recruitment preparation to post-placement assistance. The nature of all services will be detailed in the EURES service catalogue. There will be a distinction between Universal and Complementary services.

Universal services are those that follow directly from the obligations set out in the Regulation and will, therefore be obligatory for all EURES partners to provide. Universal services are essentially related to the "clearance of vacancies and applications for employment" and the connected activities in recruitment, matching, placement and provision of information and advice.

Complementary services are not obligatory in the sense of the Regulation but fulfil important labour market needs, such as assistance and help to integrate incoming or returning jobseekers.

All services to jobseekers and workers must be entirely free of charge. If EURES partners charge for their services to other clients they may not levy charges that are different from what applies to other similar services. If EURES partners receive EU funding they must make sure that there is no double financing of the services they provide.

4.8.        The EURES Management Board

The current High Level Strategy Group will be replaced by a EURES Management Board. Each Member State will have two representatives, one of whom may represent the national ESF authority where ESF funding is used to support the national co-ordination office. Representatives of social partner organisation at the European level shall be invited as observers. The Management Board shall assist the Commission and the national o-ordination offices by promoting and overseeing the development of EURES and will be consulted on all strategic aspects of planning, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of EURES services.

4.9.        The EURES Co-ordination group

The Commission and the representatives of the national co-ordination offices will regularly meet in the EURES Co-ordination group to co-ordinate the development, implementation and monitoring of EURES, e.g. by preparing annual work programmes and their implementation. Representatives of Social partner's organisations, EURES partners, EURES Associated Partners and other experts can be invited when appropriate.

Permanent or ad hoc expert working groups can be set up to handle specific issues, such as planning and implementation of horizontal support activities..

4.10.      The EURES Charter

The current EURES Charter and the EURES guidelines will be replaced by a new EURES Charter, valid for a specific period of time and that will provide guidance for the EURES service delivery. In particular, the Charter will define the accreditation system to be used for the appointment of EURES partners as well as details on operational issues such as objectives, reporting, data collection and quality standards, the EURES Service catalogue, the development and operation of innovative and efficient transnational and cross-border co-operation, task descriptions and profiles of co-ordinators and other EURES personnel.

5.           The way forward

The proposed new Commission decision is subject to consultation in the Advisory Committee for free movement of workers and the EURES High Level Strategy as foreseen in the Regulation 492/2011 and the COM decision 2003/8. It is foreseen to terminate the consultation process by summer 2012 and then quickly proceed with the adoption of the new Commission decision that should enter into force by 1 January 2014. In parallel the legislative process will continue with regards to the Commission proposals for the EU Programme for Social Change and Innovation (PSCI) and the European Social Fund (ESF) regulation under which EURES activities at European and national/cross border levels will be respectively eligible for funding.

The three elements of the EURES reform cannot be seen in isolation; they are logically linked and interdependent. With this reform EURES will be transformed into an effective and efficient employment instrument using the full potential of Regulation 492/2011 and creating added value for jobseekers, job changers and employers to the benefit of a better functioning European labour market. In conjunction with the other legislative initiatives to remove outstanding legal, tax and practical obstacles to the free movement of workers as listed in the Communication "Towards a job-rich recovery". It should also lead to more intra-EU mobility and a better matching between the supply and demand for labour, thus contributing to employment, recovery and long-term growth.

The reformed EURES will in particular provide more transparency on the European job vacancy market. New EURES partners from all types of employment services will be involved in the clearance of vacancies at European level. The EURES outreach both in terms of geographical and labour market coverage will be significantly increased by the inclusion of new partner organisations into EURES; this will also strengthen the delivery of personalised services to jobseekers, job changers and employers through the reinforced network of EURES advisers. The demand-driven elements of the EURES service offer will be at the disposal of the employers experiencing recruitment difficulties and are especially focusing on filling bottleneck vacancies.

Overall the reformed EURES will produce more and better results in terms of placements and advice given to jobseekers, job changers and employers.

[1]               Mobility of workers has proven to contribute to both, employment and economic growth, as e.g. Employment in Europe 2008 and Employment and Social Developments in Europe 2011.

[2]               Studies discussing the relationship between geographical mobility and economic and employment indicators : Eurofound, Economic benefits of long distance mobility http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef0702.htm and IZA,Geographical mobility in the EU – optimising its economic and social benefits http://www.iza.org/en/webcontent/publications/reports/report_pdfs/iza_report_19.pdf

[3]               See Beveridge curve for the EU 2000Q1-2011Q3 in European Economic Forecast, Autumn 2011

[4]               See Employment and Social Developments in Europe report 2011

[5]               The development of EURES and its predecessor CEDOC from 1968 and onwards is described in the book EURES: the story so far. Matching jobs and skills in Europe for 15 years, Luxembourg 2009.

[6]               The right of freedom of movement for workers can be exercised by EU nationals and their family members, EEA nationals and their family members, in accordance with Art 45 TFEU, and developed through secondary law (Regulation (EU) nº 492/2011 and Directive 2004/38, as well as Directive 2005/36, and by case-law of the Court of Justice of the EU). Swiss nationals and their family members can benefit of the free movement of workers in accordance with the Agreement of 21 June 1999 between the Swiss confederation and the EU on the free movement of persons.

[7]               Within the context of EURES, placement can be understood as the provision of services by an intermediary between the supply and demand on the labour market with the objective of a recruitment taking place., where recruitment is the filling of a job vacancy.

[8]               Ex-post evaluation of the EURES programme covering the period 2006-2008, European Policy Evaluation Consortium (EPEC), 2010

[9]               The extrapolation of results of the external EURES evaluation study and the analysis of the reports of

                the national EURES members suggests that around 150000 persons find a job or get a job offer through EURES.

[10]             e.g. Service Level Agreements between Public Employment Services, Private Employment Services and employers' organisations…

[11]             COM(2011) 609 final

[12]             COM(2011) 607 final

[13]             Article 6.3b) of the Commission proposal for a Regulation on a European Union Programme for Social Change and Innovation

[14]             European Skills, Competences and Occupations classification

[15]             Interoperability in the EURES context refers to the ability of systems or components to exchange information and use the information that has been exchanged. Interoperability counteracts the segmentation of labour markets which are due to the inability of exchanging information.

[16]             http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=631&langId=en&callId=328&furtherCalls=yes

[17]             Art 15.1.B. "If necessary, the services territorially responsible for border regions shall also set up cooperation and service structures"