On 11 November, the European Parliament agreed on a Commission proposal to continue the successful work of the EU Public Employment Services Network until 2027.

© Commissioner Nicolas Schmit with representative of the German Presidency and the European Parliament Rapporteur on 24 September 2020, when a pre-agreement was reached

The adoption by the Council and the European Parliament of this proposal by the Commission and its publication in the Official Journal on 30 November, is an important decision as public employment services are currently playing a key social role in mitigating job losses suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Europe moves towards the recovery phase, public employment services are helping millions of workers in short-time work schemes to preserve jobs and income, and assisting people in adapting their skills to the changing labour market.

Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, said: “Thanks to this agreement, the close cooperation between European public employment services – a genuine European success story – will continue. In this time of high employment uncertainty, public employment services are more than ever the first in line to support all those who are on short-time work schemes or who need to reorient their professional future.”

The agreement reached between the EU institutions means the successful cooperation among different public employment services will continue and strengthen, while reacting to relevant political priorities such as the European Pillar of Social Rights and the European Green Deal

The Network brings together the public employment services of all EU Member States, Norway and Iceland. It provides a platform to identify good practices and learn from each other in order to boost performance and prepare for future labour market challenges.