VZCZCXRO3086
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHHM RUEHIK RUEHJO
RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBS #1460/01 1221127
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021127Z MAY 07
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
RUEHC/DOL WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001460 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL FOR BLS AND ILAB 
TREASURY FOR IMI 
STATE FOR DRL/IL 
 
PLEASE PASS TO LABOR OFFICERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB SOCI PGOV EUN
SUBJECT:  SCENE-SETTER FOR G8 LABOR MINISTERIAL: THE 
VIEW FROM BRUSSELS 
 
REF: (A) BRUSSELS 00846; (B) BRUSSELS 00826 
     (C) 2006 BRUSSELS 04113 
 
¶1.   This message is intended to provide information 
and background on the EU employment strategy and the 
personality and the views of EU Employment and 
Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimir Spidla in 
preparation for the G-8 Labor Ministerial to take 
place in Dresden on May 6-8. 
 
MORE AND BETTER JOBS 
-------------------- 
 
¶2.  The European Employment Strategy (EES) embodies 
the EU effort since 1997 to "define common 
objectives in relation to employment policy and 
detailed guidelines for the development of the 
employment policies of Member States."  In line 
with the "Lisbon Strategy" agreed by EU leaders in 
2000 and revised in 2005, the Commission described 
the goals of its EU-wide strategy as full 
employment ("more jobs"), the promotion of quality 
and productivity at work ("better jobs"), and 
fostering cohesion and an inclusive labor market 
("greater social cohesion").  Implementation of the 
EES relies on what is called the "open method of 
coordination," which is resting on guidelines and 
indicators, benchmarking and sharing of best 
practices, but with no official sanctions for 
laggards.  It is backed by recommendations to the 
Member States adopted in an annual employment 
report jointly produced by the EU Commission and 
Council in a coordinated process. 
 
¶3.  In pursuit of its vision of making Europe the 
most competitive and dynamic knowledge economy in 
the world, "Lisbon" set objectives of full 
employment, better quality of work, lifelong 
learning and partnerships with the EU's "social 
partners (representatives of employers' and labor 
organizations at EU level).  The strategy was also 
meant to influence national priorities of the 
Member States to help achieve the EU-wide 
objectives.  "Lisbon" also identified quantitative 
targets to achieve full employment.  After 
subsequent modification, as well as the addition of 
intermediate targets, these became: 
 
-- An overall employment rate of 67% in 2005 and 
70% in 2010; 
-- An employment rate for women of 57% in 2005 and 
60% in 2010; 
-- An employment rate of 50% for older workers 
(55-64) in 2010. 
 
¶4.  The figures should not be interpreted as 
meaning that the EES solely or even chiefly deals 
with achieving quantitative employment targets. 
Rather, its focus is meant to be changing over 
time.  It now combines a central aim of creating 
more jobs, with supporting strategies to achieve 
better jobs.  The "four pillars" of the EES are: 
 
-- Improving employability - making sure that 
people can develop the right skills to take up 
job opportunities in a fast-changing world; 
 
-- Developing entrepreneurship - making it easier 
to start and run a business and employ people 
in it; 
 
-- Promoting adaptability - developing new more 
flexible ways of working which reconcile both 
security for the worker and flexibility for 
employers; 
 
-- Strengthening equal opportunities and ensuring 
equal access to jobs for women and men and 
equal treatment at work. 
 
¶5.  "More and better jobs" was identified as a major 
policy issue for discussion by EU leaders at each 
"spring" (March) meeting of the European Council 
 
BRUSSELS 00001460  002 OF 003 
 
 
over the past few years.  The annual review not only 
underlines the importance attached to these topics 
but also emphasizes the over-riding need for better 
implementation of commitments already agreed under 
"Lisbon."  Any strategy implemented in a 
"cooperative" way is inevitably subject to such 
vulnerabilities.  Although the strategy has recently 
come to bear some fruits and is now "showing its 
positive impact," (REFs A and B) the EU Council 
recognized a few weeks ago that "considerable 
delivery gaps need to be bridged" to address the 
fact that 17 million Europeans remain unemployed and 
to create 20 million new jobs. 
 
IMPROVING SOCIAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS IN LDCs 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  The Commission has been advocating more 
cooperation between the WTO and the ILO to ensure 
progress on the social aspects of globalization, 
including labor standards.  The EU already includes 
social and environmental incentives in its trade 
relations with developing countries (the Generalised 
Scheme of Preferences).  It grants extra tariff 
reductions to countries that implement the ILO 
conventions (REF. C). 
 
¶7.  The EU Council of Ministers for Employment and 
Social Affairs in December 2006 noted with 
satisfaction that the ILO's Decent Work Agenda is 
based on an integrated approach covering productive 
and freely chosen employment, and full respect for 
rights at work, and that the approach is 
encompassing core labor standards, social dialogue, 
social protection (including health and safety at 
work), and gender equality.  Ministers emphasized 
that the ILO's Decent Work Agenda is in line with 
the Union's values and principles.  They recalled 
that "the promotion of employment, social cohesion 
and decent work for all is part of the European 
Social Policy Agenda and of the European Consensus 
on EU Development Policy." 
 
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 
------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  The Commission encourages companies to assess 
their performance also on the welfare of their 
workforce and care for the environment.  The 
Commission is committed to integrate corporate 
social responsibility (CSR) into other EU policies 
(not only in employment and social affairs) such as 
enterprise, development and trade policies. 
Commissioner Spidla told a November 2006 Brussels 
conference looking at the link between the promotion 
of innovation and competitiveness and corporate 
social responsibility that CSR was "essential to 
sustainable growth and development."  Spidla 
described the two themes as complementary and 
sharing the same objective: "I am convinced that it 
is the promotion of innovation in the context or 
corporate social responsibility that will in the 
longer term determine the health of our 
economies and consequently the stability and future 
of the European Union." 
 
BIO NOTES ON EU COMMISSIONER SPIDLA 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  Vladimir Spidla joined the EU Commission in late 
2004 after serving as Prime Minister of the Czech 
Republic in the period July 2002 - June 2004. 
Having studied history at the Charles University of 
Prague, where he graduated in 1976, Spidla took up a 
number of jobs until the late 1980s, often as a 
simple worker because he was not prepared to make 
the political compromises necessary for getting jobs 
that should have been available to him on the basis 
of his qualifications.  He also worked as an 
archaeologist.  His background and his reputation 
within the Barroso Commission are those of a man of 
integrity and honesty but with poor communication 
skills.  The job of EU Commissioner awarded to him 
 
BRUSSELS 00001460  003 OF 003 
 
 
after his loss of the premiership in 2004 was 
criticized in his country as "a golden parachute." 
Spidla is regarded as strongly pro-European and a 
supporter of EU integration (views not necessarily 
shared in the political establishment of the Czech 
Republic) but his impact on the formulation of 
Commission policies has generally been limited to 
his specific responsibilities.  President Barroso 
and Vice-President Verheugen have much more 
visibility than Spidla in the promotion of the EU 
"Lisbon strategy" for growth and jobs. 
 
¶10.  Spidla is married for the second time; he has 
two sons from his first marriage and another two 
children by marriage.  His hobbies include cross- 
country and marathon running.  In addition to his 
native Czech, Spidla speaks German and French.  His 
public interventions as EU Commissioner are 
generally in those languages and his command of 
English is weak.  For further bio information about 
Commissioner Spidla, his policies, his staff, his 
agenda and for a collection of his speeches, see: 
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/spidla 
 
McKINLEY