The 11th UfM Regional Platform on Employment and Labour took place online, gathering around 65 participants, with a good level of representation of the UfM countries (20), notably the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean partners, as well as social partners and EU Delegations.

The back-to-back session on 31 May was dedicated to advance with the volunteering UfM Member States on the Matrix and indicators for a framework for national monitoring.

The first morning session consisted of

• an overview of recent developments in EU employment, social affairs and inclusion policy provided by DG EMPL with a focus on key EU initiatives adopted in 2020 and 2021 or planned in 2021:
  • Youth Employment Support Package with notably the reinforced EU Youth Guarantee,
  • Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights
  • Public consultation on the platform work
  • Strategic framework for health and safety at work
  • Decent Work Communication
  • Action Plan on social economy
• a presentation on the new Agenda for the Mediterranean by DG NEAR, notably its 2 pillars on human development and on resilience/prosperity (inclusive economies) and the relevant regional ongoing programmes

The second morning session provided the participants with an overview of key trends and main results of relevant studies/projects that could feed the discussion in the afternoon regarding the priority fields for the UfM Ministerial meeting of 2022.

In this respect, the European Training Foundation (ETF) presented the results of a Youth study in the Mediterranean Region, the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMED) highlighted its key initiatives, networks and projects for job creation, the OECD presented key findings from its recent studies, and the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ) provided insights in the YouMatch project which is a Global Initiative on Employment Services for Youth.

The afternoon started with a stock tacking of the implementation of the UfM Roadmap since the Cascais Ministerial Declaration of 2019 followed by the last session of the day which was dedicated to the preparation of the next UfM Ministerial Meeting on Employment and Labour of 2022 whereby DG EMPL presented a concept in terms of date, location, format as well as content whereby the suggested topic of “employment and employability of the most vulnerable, especially youth and women” was very much welcomed by the UfM Member States.