On 30 June 2005, the European Commission issued a press release announcing that 2006 would be the European Year of mobility of workers. This is the first European year that combines the issues of mobility and workers. It aims to raise awareness and increase understanding of the benefits of both working abroad and in a new occupation. Its official launch will take place in February 2006 in the presence of the Commission’s president, Jose Manuel Barroso and several Commissioners.
In June 2005, the European Commission stated that 2006 would be the European Year for mobility of workers. The aim of this is to encourage EU citizens to work abroad and in different sectors in their home country, to enable them to benefit from new skills and experience.
On 30 June 2005, the European Commission issued a press release announcing that 2006 would be the European Year of mobility of workers. This is the first European year that combines the issues of mobility and workers. It aims to raise awareness and increase understanding of the benefits of both working abroad and in a new occupation. Its official launch will take place in February 2006 in the presence of the Commission’s president, Jose Manuel Barroso and several Commissioners.
Current figures show that very few Europeans work abroad, although the Commission believes that working in new countries and/or sectors can provide people with new skills and experience, with benefits for both the workers and their employers. Further, the Commission stresses that reskilling is crucial in an economic environment characterised by globalisation and restructuring. It adds that over the past 30 years, the percentage of Europeans residing in an EU country other than their country of origin has remained stable, at around 1.5%. In nine EU countries, 40% of workers have remained in the same job for over 10 years.
Vladimir Spidla, Commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities, pinpointed some of the reasons for low EU worker mobility: 'There are still legal, administrative and linguistic obstacles to worker mobility, coupled with lack of knowledge about available information and assistance, and many workers remain unconvinced about the advantages of working in another country and/or sector.' He continued: 'This is what we have to address.'
Accordingly, some EUR 4.3 million of the EUR 6 million budget allocated to the year will be dedicated to mobility awareness-raising projects. A call for proposals will be issued in September 2005. The remaining funds will be spent on major events, including a mobility conference in Vienna in June 2006 and job fairs in some 100 European cities in September 2006. Additionally, several studies on the impact of mobility and attempts to improve the statistical database are planned. Finally, a European prize will be awarded to the organisation that has contributed most to worker mobility.
2006 is also the first review opportunity for the 12 EU Member States that applied temporary restrictions to labour mobility following the most recent enlargement of the EU on 1 May 2004. The Commission hopes that these Member States will repeal or ease these restrictions and therefore significantly boost worker mobility.
This information is made available through the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO), as a service to users of the EIROnline database. EIRO is a project of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. However, this information has been neither edited nor approved by the Foundation, which means that it is not responsible for its content and accuracy. This is the responsibility of the EIRO national centre that originated/provided the information. For details see the "About this record" information in this record.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2005), 2006 is declared European worker mobility year , article.
