EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit has emphasised the need for a human-centred recovery in Europe following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the important work of Eurofound in combining scientific research with an approach that resonates with people’s lives across the EU. Commissioner Schmit was addressing staff at Eurofound during a two-day visit to Dublin, during which he also participated at the 7th Foundation Forum in Dublin Castle.

Commissioner Schmit met with Eurofound staff members during his visit, noting the value of Eurofound’s recent work on telework, minimum wages, youth, gender equality, just transitions, and convergence. He emphasised the importance of this research, not just for the work of the European institutions, but also for policymakers across Europe. With regards to convergence, the Commissioner spoke about the clarity that Eurofound’s research had brought in highlighting the impact that EU and national-level policy and fiscal interventions had in mitigating the economic and employment impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the Foundation Forum in Dublin Castle yesterday, Commissioner Schmit addressed the social dimension of Europe’s green and digital transitions, and issues around cost of living and tackling poverty in Europe. The Commissioner’s address followed that of Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who spoke about the importance of shared European values in the context of the war in Ukraine, Ireland’s place in the European Union over the past 50 years, and the vital work of Eurofound in contributing to the improvement of living and working conditions for people throughout the EU from its offices in Dublin.

Speaking at the conclusion of his visit, and following addressing Eurofound staff, Commissioner Schmit said

‘Eurofound produces valuable work tracking important trends and changes in employment and social policies, this work is fundamental for evidence-based public policy development. The coordination between Eurofound and other European institutions is already very close, we wish to continue this, draw on the talents and resources that Eurofound has, and, in particular, its unique combination of a scientific approach and a human-centred perspective on social, economic and employment related developments.’

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