In Barcelona, the EU is examining how to incorporate the lessons of the crisis into how we combat unemployment over the next ten years

The Ministers for Employment of the European Union are holding an informal council on Thursday 28 and Friday 29 January which will lay the foundations for drawing up the common policies in the area of employment which the European Union will adopt over the next ten years as part of the “2020 Strategy”.

This is how the Secretary General for Employment, Maravillas Rojo, explained it to those journalists who have been authorised to cover this event organised by the Spanish Presidency of the EU.
 
The ministerial discussions have been split into two specific workshops: one on how to incorporate the impact of the crisis into EU policies, and the other focusing on new qualifications for new jobs.

In addition, a Troïka formed by the representatives of Spain, Belgium and Hungary (the three countries to hold the Presidency in succession) will meet with European social partners in order to incorporate their ideas into this process.  

The Spanish Presidency wants to place the emphasis in all these meetings on looking for solutions for the particularly vulnerable situation of women and young people in employment.
 
In the first exchange of views between the Ministers on how to exit the economic crisis in order to maintain and create jobs, they will aim to “see what lessons we have learned, what challenges and opportunities there are and what are the most effective policies that the Member States believe are being implemented”, Rojo said.

“We are aware that the Lisbon strategy (of 2000) remains valid in its major aims (make the EU's economy  the most competitive and dynamic knowledge economy in the world), but its growth and employment expectations have not been met”, the Secretary General for Employment pointed out.

The second workshop will focus on ways to stimulate vocational training to provide the skills needed to deal with changes in professions that are already taking place and the ones to come.

For the Spanish Presidency “having human capital, that is, skilled people, is a driving force behind growth and a guarantee of stability and quality in employment, and is one of the major values that Europe should provide”, Rojo stated.

Ministers will discuss the best way of training professionals for “green jobs” linked to the environment, “blue jobs” referring to technological development, and “white jobs” linked to services to dependent persons.

According to the Secretary General for Employment “if Europe wants to come out of the crisis under different circumstances than those in which it entered, it must make a commitment to changing the production model. And only training can guarantee this transition by promoting mobility and qualifications”.

Spain believes that in this scenario the active and passive employment policies should be connected.

“We all agree that active policies (training) are the way to improve the situation of the unemployed” Maravillas Rojo declared.

Informal councils are held to promote the exchange of viewpoints between EU Member States in a relaxed environment, with the aim of laying the foundations for the policies which are subsequently approved in the formal meetings held in Brussels and Luxembourg.

The Minister's considerations during these two days will be brought up again in the Council of Ministers for Employment which will be held in the European capital on 10 March.