Minister for Economics and Labour Martin Bartenstein, current President of the EU Employment Council, congratulated the European Commission in Brussels on the relaunch of the "EURES" Internet platform: "This relaunch has come at exactly the right time. Information on over one million job vacancies throughout the whole European Union is available at the click of a mouse. I hope that many job seekers will use the service, for the 18 million unemployed we currently have in the EU are simply far too many." Bartenstein was taking part in the conference in Brussels on Monday on the occasion of the launch of the European Year of Workers’ Mobility on the theme “Workers’ Mobility: a right, an option, an opportunity?” The conference was chaired by EU Employment Commissioner Vladimir Špidla. Other participants included the Chairman of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, Jan Andersson, and the President of the Foundation for Economic Trends, Jeremy Rifkin. The conference was opened by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. The new EURES website also went online during the conference.
At a press conference, Bartenstein again stressed the importance of mobility in the labour market, but he was no less emphatic about the need to link this mobility with corresponding social security measures for employees —"Flexicurity" being the key word.
In response to questions about the Services Directive, Bartenstein said it had been “a great day” for the European Parliament. A broad majority of MEPs had decided on the ground rules, which the European Commission and the Council would have to follow closely.
On the subject of free movement of labour in the EU and the road to its full implementation, Bartenstein said that Austria was going to use the right laid down in the Accession Treaties to extend the transitional periods by another three years. Austria was already one of the countries with the highest proportion of foreign workers: 10.8% of workers came from abroad, 7.5 % of them from non-EU countries. Moreover, Austria was gradually opening up the labour market for foreign workers: thus highly qualified 'key' workers on monthly salaries from 2 250 euros could already take up employment in Austria. Should there be a lasting change in the trend on the employment market, a further opening could be considered following consultation with the social partners, he concluded.
The EURES portal is at http://europa.eu.int/eures/home.jsp?lang=en.
Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour
Office of the Minister: Ingrid Nemec, Tel.: (01) 711 00-5108
Press section: Harald Hoyer, Tel.: (01) 711 00-5130
mailto: presseabteilung@bmwa.gv.at
Internet: http://www.bmwa.gv.at
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