Meeting of Directors General of public Employment Services from the EU and Candidate Countries

On 12 June the meeting of Directors General of Public Employment Services from the EU and Candidate Countries in the organisation of the European Commission was held in Athens, Greece. The meeting was also attended by the Director General of the Employment Service of Slovenia Mr Jože Glazer.

• the new European Employment Strategy, its implementation and the role of Public Employment Services;
• the EU enlargement process;
• presentation of the Greek employment services and the set up of the British Jobcentre Plus;
• the Eurostat statistical office and Public Employment Services;
• collaboration between Public Employment Services and private employment agencies;
• the impact of information and communication technologies on operation of Public Employment Services;
• future co-operation between Public Employment Services.

In the debate on the issue of the new European Employment Strategy Mr Glazer underscored the importance of integrating not only the labour ministry but various other ministries in the strategy’s implementation. Twinning processes under the patronage of the European Commission, which are a form of assistance by the EU Member States to Public Employment Services in the Candidate Countries, and a continuation to the seminar for representatives of Public Employment Services in the Candidate Countries which was held in November 2002 in Brussels were discussed in connection with the EU enlargement process.

The results of a study on the use of information and communications technologies in the work of Public Employment Services were presented. Cooperation between Public Employment Services is set to continue in the future and will include public services from the new EU Member States. It is aimed at setting benchmarks for individual areas, services and activities by finding examples of best practice and placing an emphasis on finding effective solutions to the problems faced.

The session that took place next day, 13 June, in Athens was dedicated to the EURES network. Representatives of the European Commission and of Public Employment Services were in attendance, as were representatives of trade unions and employers. The participants confirmed the operating rules for a new body - the EURES High Level Strategy Group, the operating rules for EURES managers in employment services and guidelines for the EURES area. They also discussed the planned preparation of three-year EURES action plans.