COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 29 May 1990 on action to assist the long-term unemployed (90/C 157/03)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Having regard to the commitment of the Community to economic and social cohesion,

Having regard to the conclusions drawn by the chairman at the close of the 37th and 38th meetings of the Standing Committee on Employment on 12 May and 10 November 1989, respectively,

Whereas, in its resolution of 19 December 1984 on action to combat long-term unemployment (1), the Council (1) OJ No C 2, 4.1.1985, p. 3. considered that specific measures should be employed to take account of the serious problem of long-term unemployment, requiring both individual and joint action by governments and both sides of industry at local, regional and national levels, which should be supported at Community level;

Whereas, in its resolution of 7 June 1984 on the contribution of local employment initiatives to combating unemployment (1), the Council recognized the contribution which such initiatives could make to the objectives of the fight against unemployment by virtue of the possibilities they offered for the maintenance or creation of jobs, particularly in small undertakings;

Whereas, in its resolution of 22 December 1986 on an action programme on employment growth (2), the Council considered that further action was urgently needed, inter alia, in promoting and encouraging schemes in Member States which would be of benefit to the long-term unemployed, in the adoption of a Community approach, taking account of the experience and individual circumstances of Member States, with regard to recruitment aids for the long-term unemployed and in the identification of other means of helping more long-term unemployed people into jobs following discussions of the means of doing so with both sides of industry;

Whereas Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 of 24 June 1988 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments (3) provides for partnership in relation to Community operations;

Whereas Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 states that the European Social Fund (ESF) has, as priority missions, to provide support throughout the Community for vocational training measures and aids for employment and for the creation of self-employed activities, in order to combat long-term unemployment,

HEREBY ADOPTS THIS RESOLUTION:

1. Seriousness of long-term unemployment

The Council notes that: - there are at present over seven million persons unemployed for over a year in the Community ; long-term unemployment constitutes over 50 % of total unemployment,

- for most Community countries, recent economic growth and decreases in unemployment have not contributed significantly to a reduction in the number of long-term unemployed,

- young people have benefited more from the decline in unemployment than have older age groups,

- the long-term unemployed are concentrated mainly in urban "black spots" which often suffer many disadvantages, including poverty, bad housing, high crime rates, health problems and poor education,

- long-term unemployment is a complex problem which, although it particularly affects workers with inadequate or obsolete skills and living in areas of high unemployment, can also affect workers who are skilled and/or are living in areas of low unemployment,

- the Community, in view of the demographic situation in most Member States, will need to utilize all its labour resources, including the long-term unemployed, in order to reach its economic potential.

2. Responses to long-term unemployment (a) The Council considers that the long-term unemployment of adults and young people is one of the essential labour market problems and that national and Community actions must reflect this.

While it is recognized that competence for labour market policies lies principally with the Member States, a response is called for at Community, national and local level, involving the Commission, governments, employers and trade unions, in order to make actions in favour of the long-term unemployed more effective.

(b) The Council recognizes that long-term unemployment is a social as well as an economic problem. Policy responses should aim primarily at re-insertion of the long-term unemployed into the labour market and must be relevant to the social circumstances of the long-term unemployed as well as the labour market situations that they face.

Thus, policy measures should: - be appropriate for the individual's needs and circumstances,

- reflect the local and regional labour market needs and circumstances,

- subject to national labour market policies and practices, embody counselling, advice, support, work experience and efforts to assist the transition to stable employment in addition to whatever vocational training support is needed, (1) OJ No C 161, 21.6.1984, p. 1. (2) OJ No C 340, 31.12.1986, p. 2. (3) OJ No L 185, 15.7.1988, p. 9.

- combine the efforts of the various agencies concerned, especially at the local level,

- aim to prevent people entering long-term unemployment through a systematic approach to increased preventive measures in the form of information, counselling, aptitude testing and training.

3. Responsibilities for action (a) The Council considers that public authorities, both sides of industry and individuals themselves have a distinct role to play, each within its own area of responsibility, in tackling the problem of long-term unemployment.

Public support can be strengthened by making measures fully relevant to individual and employers' needs.

(b) Employer responses are crucial in the re-integration of the long-term unemployed.

Employers, in order to meet their own need for skilled workers, will need to turn to the long-term unemployed.

In addition, they should assist public authorities in identifying the most appropriate forms of support in order to assist the recruitment of the long-term unemployed.

(c) Public authorities should pay special attention to coming up with specific measures designed to assist the re-insertion into the labour market of those long-term unemployed who are particularly disadvantaged.

4. Evaluation of policy measures

The Council recognizes the need to continue and intensify the efforts of the Member States, with a view to bringing about a significant reduction in long-term unemployment.

In this connection, and while recognizing the primary role of the Member States in evaluating their own labour market policies, the Council awaits with interest the results of the evaluation of Community activities, notably within the framework of the European Social Fund and the Ergo and Leda programmes.

5. Community action (a) The Council takes note with interest of the Commission's intention to undertake actions in the framework of a Community initiative within the meaning of Article 11 of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 (1), inspired particularly by successful actions already taken to assist the long-term unemployed.

The initiative would facilitate the transfer of good practices, assisting re-insertion of the long-term unemployed into the labour force, between Member States and between local labour markets, on the basis of experimental, innovative pilot projects.

Such projects would demonstrate the best ways of assisting re-insertion of the long-term unemployed into the labour force. The projects would cover such matters as particularly disadvantaged groups (such as those who have several personal disadvantages in obtaining work or who have been unemployed for a particularly long time). The projects would also cover preventive measures, guidance, counselling, relevant training, work experience, entrepreneurship, the role of employers, initiatives taken by the two sides of industry and integrated approaches to the problem of long-term unemployment.

The Council notes that the Commission will involve the Member States in the drawing up of the guidelines and the selection of projects, in accordance with Articles 14 and 28 of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88.

(b) The Council, in the context of the partnership between the Commission and the Member States, attaches considerable importance to the principles underlying the actions which the Commission intends to undertake to assist the long-term unemployed. The Council considers that the Community initiative should in particular benefit specific target groups among the long-term unemployed.

The Council calls on the Commission to report to it on its proposals in the framework of the Community initiative, and their implementation, on a regular basis in the context of the reports provided for under Articles 25 and 31 of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88. (1) OJ No L 374, 31.12.1988, p. 1.