In 2007 the international cooperation of the ESS extended into several areas, which in terms of substance can be grouped under the following headings:

• Cooperation between the Public Employment Services (PES) of the European Union Member States is coordinated by the European Commission's Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. Activities involve regular meetings of PES representatives and the Commission. They are aimed at defining the role of the PES in fulfilling the European Employment Strategy and achieving the goals of the Lisbon Strategy in various fields such as: effective provision of employment, promoting the employment of vulnerable groups on the labour market (young and older people, long-term unemployed etc.), promoting vocational and geographical mobility, eliminating deficits on the labour market etc. In 2007 these activities started to be assessed additionally in terms of their contribution to flexicurity, to which the EU devotes primary attention in the operation of the labour market. Flexicurity is of course a broader concept, which embraces both active and passive forms of operation on the labour market as well as various policies (tax, employment, social security, education and so forth). Owing to the importance of PES for employment and the effective operation of the labour market, the European Commission defined the position and role of the PES as a priority area for implementing the European Employment Strategy. The ESS is actively involved in the cooperation among the PES, since it represents a form of mutual learning and familiarisation with good practices. On this level there is also regular working and expert coordination of the activities of the EURES network, which aims to ensure the free flow of workers in the EU.
   
• Recently the ESS has pursued very intensive activities in the World Association of Public Employment Services (WAPES) and in other forms of bi- and multilateral professional links with PES. The ESS has presented its activities at various professional meetings organised by the regional units of WAPES. At the last general assembly it was re-elected to perform the tasks of WAPES internal auditor. The ESS is one of the initiators and managers of regular cooperation between the PES of the Western Balkans and South Eastern Europe, which is also formally substantiated through a special agreement or protocol on partnership. In these forms of multilateral cooperation the ESS also has a special role in helping other services through its knowledge and experience in their process of approximation to the EU. In 2007 the ESS also became involved in a three-year programme of professional cooperation being conducted under the aegis of the Swedish Employment Service (Work Life Mobility Programme). Evidence of the bilateral activities of the ESS can be seen in the numerous study visits by PES representatives hosted by the ESS last year and this year (delegations from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro).
   
• The third area covers the cooperation of the ESS in international projects, which are tendered and financed by the European Commission. In this area the operations of the ESS are being enhanced and cover the following projects:
   
  • NFSD - New Forms of ESS Service Delivery, E-counselling - developing integrated e-information and e-counselling for job seekers, Mutual Learning and Benchmarking among PES; these are projects aimed at the modernisation of PES in EU Member States;
     
  • PROMO - Promoting mobility and the protection of cross-border workers in the area along the border with Italy, which is being conducted within the cross-border cooperation programme INTERREG III.A between Slovenia and Italy;
     
  • Twinning Light in Bosnia-Herzegovina, as part of which experts from the ESS transfer knowledge and experiences to public employees of the Bosnian Labour and Employment Agency, with the aim of institutional strengthening;
     
  • The project Strengthening institutional training of the Croatian PES to implement active employment policy measures, which is being conducted under the programme of EU pre-accession assistance to Croatia;
     
  • As part of the Leonardo da Vinci programme, cofinancing is being provided for a National Resource Centre for Vocational Guidance (NRCVG), which is included in the wider network of national centres in EU Member States;
     
  • In the area of PPS EQUAL projects, the ESS has contracts on cooperation in development partnerships; the projects are aimed primarily at increasing the employment of unemployed persons and promoting innovative practices in this area.