Commissioner Schmit and CoR team up to support skills
development and jobs at local level
The EU and its Member States must empower their
cities and regions to protect employment and social
rights: this is the call of the European Committee
of the Regions (CoR) to counter the devastating
social effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The
assembly of EU's local and regional representatives
also asks to strengthen the skills base for
recovery and to support regional and local
authorities in managing the green and digital
transitions.
The CoR's
Regional and Local Barometer 2020
highlights that the Covid-19 crisis particularly
affects the income of self-employed, persons hired on
fixed-term contracts and part-time workers, among them
many young people, migrants and other vulnerable
groups. The impact on employment risks being especially
negative in regions that rely heavily on tourism, where
up to 40% of jobs could be at risk. The Barometer also
shows that 43% of Europeans would like local and
regional authorities to have more influence on the
employment and social policies.
President of the European Committee of the Regions Apostolos Tzitzikostas said: "During
the Covid-19 pandemic regions and cities across Europe
have acted swiftly and decisively to help those in
need. Now Europe must place the fight against poverty
and unemployment, and in particular against rising
youth unemployment, at the heart of its efforts. This
is essential for a strong Social Europe that leaves no
people and no places behind."
To support skills and jobs matching and the local
economies with concrete actions, President Tzitzikostas
announced that the Committee would work together with
European Commission's DG Employment to launch online
“Local Jobs” fairs with regions and cities.
Speaking at the CoR plenary session on 14 October,
Commissioner for Social Rights and Jobs Nicolas Schmit said: "We need to
recover from an unprecedented crisis, and for that we
need the regions. Our measures for the youth and for
skills development must bear fruit on the ground. The
European Pillar of Social Rights has been and will be
our guiding line to ensure a better future for our
citizens. This is why I have announced with the CoR
President that we will reinforce the cooperation
between my services and the European Committee of the
Regions. This cooperation provides an opportunity to
show citizens that we are fully mobilised and listening
to them."
This week's plenary session also saw the adoption of an
opinion on
A Strong Social Europe for Just Transitions
, paving the way for an Action Plan to implement the
European Pillar of Social Rights
. Rapporteur and SEDEC Commission chair Anne Karjalainen (FI/PES), Member of
Kerava City Council, said: "The Covid-19 pandemic has
highlighted the urgent need to eradicate the existing
digital divide and to address its substantial impact
upon social rights, since lack of access to new
technologies and the information society creates new
forms of social exclusion. Digital cohesion is part and
parcel of just transitions and a cornerstone of
territorial and social cohesion. At the same time,
recovery measures must address the social dimension of
the ecological and digital transitions. We need a fair
labour market in the carbon-neutral economy of the
future, based on decent jobs, strong social protection,
and job opportunities where people live".
Referring to the European Commission's
communication
published in January, the CoR opinion points out that
the
Just Transition Fund
– EU's fund to support green transition in most
vulnerable regions – should be in line with the EU's
social pillar. At the same time, it reiterates its call
for better coordination of economic and social policies
between European and national government levels in the
context of the European semester, and calls to
guarantee local and regional authority involvement in
this coordination through shared management based on
the subsidiarity principle.
The CoR also underlines the key role of social partners
in the current context of ever-growing digitalisation
of work patterns. To this effect it calls for an update
of European rules governing working conditions and
working time, including provisions to establish the
right to disconnect.
Contact:
Lauri Ouvinen
Tel. +32 473536887
lauri.ouvinen@cor.europa.eu