"Facing the employment crisis in Europe: do we have the right tools?" - Policy Dialogue organised by the EPC

Failing to deal with the unprecedented unemployment crisis in Europe could have long-term effects, straining Europe’s public services now, and creating a large body of people without the relevant skills to help European growth, speakers agreed at this policy dialogue, organised as part of the Well-being 2030 project, co-financed by the European Commission.

Sotiria Theodoropoulou, EPC Policy Analyst, revealed in her presentation that unemployment rates are forecast to rise steeply by 2011, but high levels of public debt will place constraints on governments to deal with it.

Before the crisis, governments had used 'flexicurity' to improve the job market, but this could only be used now if accompanied by active labour market and skills policies, and job creation. “Failing to deal with the unemployment crisis could have long-term effects”, such as the loss in human capital, and could put strains on health and social services. Fiscal exit strategies and macroeconomic policies to reduce unemployment must now be properly coordinated across the EU, and the EU 2020 programme could facilitate this. As currently 82 million Europeans live under the threat of poverty, the 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion will also have an important role to raise awareness for a more inclusive society.

A panel discussion followed after the presentation with the participation of Wolfgang Müller, Head of the Brussels Office, German Federal Employment Bureau, Karl Pichelmann, Research Adviser, Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs, European Commission and Conny Reuter, Secretary-General of SOLIDAR and Chair of the Social Platform. The Dialogue was chaired by Fabian Zuleeg, EPC Chief Economist.

Further information

Download the invitation and the programme of this EPC Policy Dialogue.

For more information, visit EPC’s website.