Santer wins support for jobs strategy

THE President of the European Commission, Mr Jacques Santer, yesterday won approval from commissioners for a series of job creation proposals. Described as a "Confidence Pact for Jobs", the strategy involves governments, the European Union, employers and trade unions.

The strategy now goes to the Florence summit on June 21st.

"In the face of the appalling unemployment statistics, not to take risks is the most dangerous course of all," Mr Santer told the European parliament yesterday, when presenting the plan.

Mr Santer's pact his "big idea" is substantially a reworking of the ideas contained in former President of the European Commission, Mr Jacques Delors's 1993 White Paper on Employment and Competitiveness.

It involves governments, the social partners and the Commission in a unified strategy to harness growth to produce more jobs in the EU.

11 such co-ordinated action is taken, Mr Santer believes substantial economic benefits could be achieved.

The Commission argues the basic ideas in Mr Delors's package were right but the implementation had been weak.

Mr Santer's strategy emphasises sound fiscal policies, the re-orientation of taxes on work in favour of labour and active measures to tackle unemployment.

The proposals also highlight three issues which have yet to be settled as completion of the single market nears

. The European Company Statute long delayed by rows over worker consultation, and the absence of which, according to Mr Santer, costs the EU £24 billion.

. The liberalisation of the electricity market held up by those like Ireland seeking to protect national suppliers.

. The legal protection of biotechnological inventions seen as crucial to investment in the sector but blocked last year by MEPs in a row about patenting human genes.

The pact stresses the need for special measures to help small and medium sized firms and to support local initiatives.

Although Mr Santer does not argue for increased funding for the plan, it provides for a major refocussing of EU budgets towards job creation, targeting. £4.4 billion of EU funds into job intensive projects These funds, not yet allocated, arise from inflation accounting procedures.

Mr Santer also hopes to get about £1 billion in predicted unused farm finding allocated to the 14 priority Trans European Networks. This may prove problematic as projected costings on the BSE crisis are likely to substantially erode such funds.

Mr Santer acknowledges the reform of the labour market will be the most difficult hurdle and appeals to the social partners to work together to promote flexibility at work, pay restraint, joint training and schemes to integrate young people into the labour market.

Initial talks with the social partners have not gone well but Commission sources say they expect the European Trade Union Congress to support such talks on June 6th, and hope employers will follow suit on the 14th.