European network of employment services (EURES), workers' access to mobility services and further integration of labour markets

The Commission presents the EURES activity report for the period January 2016 - June 2018.

The report provides an overview of the activities carried out by the EURES during this period as well as a description of the state of play of the application of the new EURES Regulation (EU) 2016/589 which came into force in 2016 with the aim of creating a bigger and stronger network of European employment services, both public and private, in order to deliver a more efficient exchange of labour market information across borders in support of job placements across the EU/EEA area.

Reformed EURES

This ambitious reform of EURES set out in the EURES Regulation, is reaching completion as the deadline for implementation passed in May 2018. The implementation process has taken place in a challenging environment impacted by a number of external factors such as changes in the financial support available for national activities and new data protection requirements. Nevertheless, most of the obligations, both at European and national level, have been fulfilled or are well on track for being fulfilled.

Accomplishments made

- the full legal framework has been put in place with the adoption of the six implementing decisions under the EURES Regulation;

- all Member States have nominated a NCO and appointed PES as EURES Members;

- EURES is already starting to act as a more dynamic network with an increased number of actors, activities and services and enhanced communication, including on social media;

- the transition to a new data exchange system for job vacancies and CVs following the definition of new formats and standards is well under way;

- EURES has taken up its role as a centre of expertise on labour market mobility and a laboratory for innovative mobility projects (targeted mobility schemes);

- the EURES portal continues to be an effective European placement tool;

- the new monitoring and reporting provisions in the Regulation are implemented and will allow more complete and consistent reporting on EURES activities, including on placements in the future.

Challenges

There are, however, still a number of challenges to be tackled both in a short and in a long term perspective. To make the extension of the network to new Members and Partners a reality, all Member States must put in place effective and transparent admission systems and share information about admitted organisations across the network. The system for the exchange of job vacancies and CVs must be fully implemented by all Member States while ensuring that all relevant job vacancies and CVs are sent to the EURES Portal timely and meeting common quality standards.

In a longer term perspective, it will also be necessary to ensure appropriate synergies with similar or complementing initiatives such as Europass and the Single Digital Gateway. 

These challenges will be dealt with together with the setting up of the European Labour Authority (ELA), proposed by the Commission in March 2018 and provisionally agreed by the European Parliament and Council in February 2019. In the medium term, EURES coordination activities will indeed be the responsibility of the ELA which should reach its full capacity by 2024. This will be achieved through a formal transfer to the ELA of the EURES European Coordination Office (ECO). 

Under the responsibility of ELA, ECO will strengthen EURES role in the promotion of fair mobility conditions. It will benefit from a comprehensive operational structure dedicated to EU labour mobility and from specialised expertise in different areas which may provide ideas on further challenges to be addressed or innovative policy approaches and tools. In turn, ECO will contribute to the functioning of the Authority through its expertise, network, and tools.

Recommendation for Member States

The main concerns of the Member States for the next reporting period are financing schemes, dialogue and cooperation, digital activities, information exchange and monitoring and evaluation methods. 

Member States are encouraged to make full use tools and guidelines on public relations and outreach provided by the European level and to mainstream their internal and external communication activities on EURES.