The European Parliament adopted by 627 votes to 38, with 31 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Decision No 573/2014/EU on enhanced cooperation between Public Employment Services (PES).
Parliament adopted its position at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure, amending the Commission proposal as follows.
Objective
The period of establishment of the European network of Public Employment Services (PES) would be prolonged until 31 December 2027. The network would aim to modernise and strengthen the PES with a view to improving their capacity, the quality of the services they provide, their effectiveness and efficiency.
The network should:
- intensify cooperation between its members and develop joint initiatives for the exchange of information and best practices in all areas of PES operational areas, providing benchmarking and advice, and encouraging innovative initiatives in job placement services;
- contribute to the implementation of the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the relevant principles and objectives of the European Green Deal and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals;
- continue to intensify its systematic and structural cooperation with other relevant labour market actors, including EU agencies in the area of employment, social policy, gender equality, education and training, as well as social partners and organisations representing vulnerable groups and local and regional authorities.
To this end, the network should support:
- all vulnerable social groups with high unemployment rates, especially older workers and young persons not in employment, education or training (NEETs) as well as people with disabilities and people facing multiple discrimination;
- improving the functioning and inclusiveness of labour markets;
- gender equality;
- identifying skills shortages and providing information on their extent and areas of concern, and better matching of the skills
Network initiatives
The network should develop and implement EU-wide comparative learning between PES based on concrete data and results in order to compare, according to an appropriate methodology, the performance of their activities in the following areas:
- contribution to reducing unemployment for all age, gender and vulnerable groups;
- adopt and implement its annual work programme setting out its working methods, deliverables, the details related to the implementation of bench learning as well as dissemination and cooperation strategies;
- promote and share best practice on the identification of vulnerable groups in the labour market, such as the long-term unemployed, workers with disabilities and NEETs, and on the promotion of their integration into the labour market, including initiatives to gain new skills where necessary.
Board of Directors
The Management Board should be assisted by a Secretariat provided by and based within the Commission. The Secretariat, in cooperation with the Chair and Vice-Chairs, should prepare the Board meetings, the annual work programme and the annual report of the Network.
Funding
The Network and its initiatives should be funded in accordance with the financial planning of the Union as appropriate and within the appropriations set by the European Parliament and the Council. 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 relevant Union programmes.