Although Member States have sole competence for employment policy, under the Treaties the EU should aim to achieve lasting high employment, improve working conditions and combat discrimination in the labour market. The horizontal social clause in Article 9 TFEU also contributes to strengthening employment policy as it requires the EU to fulfil the abovementioned employment and social objectives when defining and implementing its other policies and activities, such as the European Semester cycle of policy coordination. The European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) proclaimed in 2017 and the 2021 EPSR Action Plan with its headline targets to be achieved by 2030, are further tools to guide greater coordination of employment policy at EU level.
Lot 1 covers expertise on all aspects of employment policy, including:
- workers’ rights, working conditions, labour law; new, atypical and non-standard forms of employment;
- social dialogue, information and consultation of workers, also in newly emerging forms of work;
- vocational training policy, upskilling and reskilling, lifelong learning; and professional qualifications;
- workers’ mobility and immigration, including follow-up to the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
- non-discrimination at the workplace and in the labour market;
- the implications for the labour market of the green and digital transitions;
- questions relating to the European Social Fund Plus, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers, existing and possible future EU funds in the area of employment policy (e.g. SURE (Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency), RRF (Recovery and Resilience Facility), CARE (Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe)).
