§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress is being made, with Britain's partners in the European Union, towards establishing an integrated approach to job creation measures across Europe. [39788]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThe key elements of the Conclusions at the Luxembourg Special Summit on Employment, held in November 1997, included agreement on a set of Employment Guidelines. The Guidelines are designed to focus member states' efforts to tackle unemployment across Europe through, among other things, fostering the macro-economic and labour market conditions that will allow companies to create more jobs.
All member states have produced National Employment Action Plans which set out how they intend to implement the Employment Guidelines. These are now being assessed and will be discussed at the Cardiff European Council in June.
Copies of the UK Employment Action Plan are available in the Library.