Today, at the European Committee of the Regions, Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights and PES Common Candidate Nicolas Schmit presented a new 23 million Euro funding opportunity to support social innovations fighting against long-term unemployment.
This new funding opportunity from the social innovation strand of the ESF+ will enable local employment guarantees – such as Territoires zero chômeur de longue durée in France or Gramatneusiedl’s Job Guarantee in Austria – to further develop and spread across the EU.
Long-term unemployment affects over five million people in the EU. Local employment guarantees are local experiments that provide employment opportunities tailored to the competencies and aspirations of the long-term unemployed. They create socially valuable jobs, reallocating the public resources usually spent on unemployment costs, in sectors not fulfilled by the market. They demonstrate that people want to work, and that there is work to be done, although the traditional labour market fails to match both.
Local Employment guarantees bring back people to work, in quality employment, based on their skills, for the benefit of the community. In addition to the French and Austrian experiments, similar schemes have been rolled out in Brussels (BE), Wallonia (BE), Berlin (DE), Rome (IT), Groningen (NE), and Konin (PL).
Commenting on the announcement, PES President Stefan Löfven said:
“Long term unemployment is a sign that the labour market is not working properly. It results in a loss of human resources and of skills for unemployed people, a loss of social security contributions and a loss of economic activity.
“Yet, long-term unemployment is not inevitable. Local employment guarantees, in their various local declinations, all show that no one is unemployable.
“There is no shortage of work either, and local employment guarantees serve the broader local communities with activities contributing to their climate resilience, the local availability of social services and services to local companies.
“We are grateful to Commissioner Nicolas Schmit for the 23 million Euro funding he makes available to support and further develop such initiatives. This demonstrates once again his long-standing commitment to the social economy and to social innovation. We are proud to have him as our Common Candidate for the June European Elections.”
The 23 million Euro funding announced by Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights and PES Common Candidate Nicolas Schmit in the European Committee of the Regions today marks an important step in PES fight against long-term unemployment. It is the result of a huge mobilisation and work of socialist members at all levels, from the European Committee of the Regions, the European Parliament, and the European Commission. The initiative is further proof that our political family achieves positive results that support innovative social solution to protect European citizens.
Today’s announcement adds European funding to the institutional recognition local employment guarantees gained through the Committee of the Regions opinion on Zero long-term unemployment: the local and regional perspective, adopted last year at the initiative of PES Deputy Secretary General, Deputy Mayor of Berchem-Sainte-Agathe (Brussels) and member of the PES Group in the European Committee of the Regions, Yonnec Polet.
This funding opportunity also answers the calls from S&D EMPL Coordinator Agnes Jongerius and S&D MEP Aurore Lalucq made when presenting a pilot project on local employment guarantees in the European Parliament in May last year, as well Local Employment Guarantees local initiators’ expectations for EU support.
Last year, the PES Social Europe Network (SEN) visited a TZCLD in Paris, France, with a delegation led by Agnes Jongerius Chair of the PES Social Europe Network, and spoke with people who had been supported by TZCLD to get back into employment with a good quality job. The PES remains focused and ready to promote such local experiments to support employment, foster social cohesion and strengthen local communities.
Pictures from the announcement made at the COR can be found here
