The seminar to support the twelve Accession and Candidate Countries in implementing the European Employment Strategy was held at Bled, Slovenia, between 29 September and 1 October. It was financially supported by the European Commission and organised by the Swedish Employment Service AMS in collaboration with the Employment Service of Slovenia. Mr. Jože Glazer, the Director General of the Slovenian Employment Service chaired and steered the seminar together with Mr. Donal Sands, the Head of the Irish Employment Service FAS and Mr. Frank Kavanagh, a representative of the EU Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs.

The seminar was focused primarily on the discussion of questions, exchange of experience and good practice related to the implementation of the preventative approach as it is defined by the European Employment Strategy. Its purpose is to prevent inflow into long-term unemployment and to promote the sustainable integration of the unemployed into employment. The following topics were particularly pointed out: providing early assistance to jobseekers, the use of appropriate information technologies and IT tools, and especially the development of specific approaches for vulnerable groups on the labour market - long-term unemployed, young people, older workers, disabled people and ethnic minorities.

Nearly forty representatives of Public Employment Services (PES) from Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Cyprus, Malta, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovenia took part in the seminar. The aim of the seminar was to contribute to the modernisation of PES operations and to enhance the competence of PES in the Accession and Candidate Countries in the implementation of the preventative approach.

The individual parts of the seminar, which was conducted in the form of presentations and workshops, were led and steered by the representatives of PES from the EU Member States: Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium. The work was based on encouraging dialogue and discussion among the participants, asking questions and exchanging information and opinions.

The seminar was the second in a series of seminars covering the area of employment and labour market with which the European Commission wishes to help the Accession and Candidate Countries in their preparations to meet the challenges of the EU membership. The third seminar will take place in Budapest, Hungary, in spring 2004, and it will focus on the co-operation of PES with the employers.

The photo of the seminar's participants at Bled