The European Commission works with a wide range of partners by:

• Organising public consultations to seek views before taking major policy initiatives.
• Helping national governments to coordinate their efforts to create jobs, make pensions sustainable and tackle poverty and social exclusion.
• Cooperating with international organisations and partner countries to promote decent work.
• Being in close contact with representatives of the European trade unions and employers – the "social partners". They have reached a large number of agreements at the European level, some of which have been transformed into binding legislation.
• Collaborating with national authorities in the management of EU funding, particularly the European Social Fund.
• Cooperating with social sector non-governmental organisations.
• Liaising with experts from EU countries through various technical committees.
• Cooperating with the European Labour Authority, the European Foundation for Living and Working Conditions, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training and the European Training Foundation.