The European Parliament adopted by 576 votes to 56, with 21 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the 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.
The European Parliament’s position, adopted at first reading, following the ordinary legislative procedure, amended the Commission proposal as follows.
Re-establishment, restoration and strengthening of the European network of employment services EURES: the proposed Regulation replaces the regulatory framework on EURES as set out in Regulation (EU) No 492/2011. It establishes a framework for cooperation to facilitate the exercise of the freedom of movement for workers within the Union. It lays down principles and rules on the organisation and promotion of the EURES network.
The EURES network shall, within the areas of its activities, contribute to the following objectives:
- facilitating the exercise of the rights conferred by Article 45 TFEU and by Regulation (EU) No 492/2011;
- implementing the coordinated strategy for employment and, in particular, for promoting a skilled, trained and adaptable workforce as referred to in Article 145 TFEU;
- improving the functioning, cohesion and integration of the labour markets in the Union, including at cross-border level;
- promoting voluntary geographical and occupational mobility in the Union, including in cross-border regions, on a fair basis and in compliance with Union and national law and practice;
- supporting transitions into the labour market, thereby promoting the social and employment objectives referred to in Article 3 TEU.
Services under this Regulation shall be available to all workers and employers across the Union and shall respect the principle of equal treatment. Accessibility for persons with disabilities to the information provided on the EURES portal and to support services available at national level shall be ensured.
Composition of the EURES network: other than the European Coordination Office which shall be established within the Commission and shall be responsible for assisting the EURES network in carrying out its activities, a National Coordination Offices (NCOs) shall be responsible for the application of this Regulation in the respective Member State, which shall be designated by the Member States and which may be their Public Employment Service (PES); the EURES Members and Partners. Social partner organisations may become part of the EURES network as EURES Members or Partners.
National Coordination Offices (NCOs): each NCO shall be responsible for: (i) the organisation of work relating to the EURES network in the Member State, including ensuring a coordinated transfer to the EURES portal of information on job vacancies, job applications and CVs through a single coordinated channel; (ii) providing the European Coordination Office with any available information on discrepancies between the number of job vacancies notified and the total number of job vacancies at national level.
In the interest of workers and employers, each NCO shall make available, regularly update and disseminate in a timely manner, information and guidance available at national level relating to the situation in the Member State concerning:
- living and working conditions, including general information on social security and tax payments;
- the relevant administrative procedures regarding employment, and the rules applicable to workers upon taking up employment;
- its national regulatory framework for apprenticeships and traineeships and existing Union rules and instruments;
- access to vocational education and training;
- post-recruitment assistance in general and information about where to obtain such assistance within and, if such information is available, outside the EURES network.
The NCOs shall facilitate the cooperation of the EURES network with the social partners at national level by ensuring a regular dialogue with the social partners in accordance with national law and practice.
Common IT platform: in order to bring together job vacancies and job applications, each Member State shall make available to the EURES portal all job vacancies as well as all job applications and CVs made publicly available through PES as well as those provided by the EURES Members and, where relevant, the EURES Partners.
Member States should be able to exclude from clearance certain categories of apprenticeships and traineeships in order to ensure the coherence and functioning of their educational systems and to take into account the need to design their active labour market policy measures on the basis of the needs of the workers targeted by those measures.
Support services: upon request, the EURES Members and Partners shall:
- assist, free of charge, workers and employers using their services with their registration on the EURES portal;
- provide workers and employers with basic information concerning the EURES portal, including the job-application and CV database;
- facilitate access to information on the rights relating to social security, active labour market measures, taxation, issues relating to work contracts, pension entitlement and health insurance.
EURES cross-border partnership: Member States shall encourage close cooperation at cross-border level between regional, local and, where relevant, national actors, such as practices and services delivered in the framework of EURES cross-border partnerships. Where, in cross-border regions, the EURES Members or Partners participate in specific cooperation and service structures, such as cross-border partnerships, they shall provide frontier workers and employers with information relating to the specific situation of frontier workers and of relevance for employers in such regions.
Establishment of a coordination group: this should serve as a platform for the exchange of information and for the sharing of best practices, in particular regarding the development and dissemination across the EURES network of appropriate information and guidance to workers, including frontier workers, and employers.