Activities of Elisabeth SCHROEDTER related to 2011/2067(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Agenda for new skills and jobs (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the Agenda for New Skills and Jobs PDF (350 KB) DOC (225 KB)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the Agenda for new skills and jobs
Amendments (58)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
- having regard to the Council Conclusions of 6 December 2010 on ‘Employment policies for a competitive, low-carbon, resource-efficient and green economy’,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 b (new)
Citation 6 b (new)
- having regard to the study of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP ‘Skills for Green Jobs’, 2010,
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Agenda for new skills and jobs as part of the 2020 strategy, pointing out that only a workforce that is skilled is of fundamental importance for the development of a competitive, sustainable and innovative economy, underlines that the promotion of a resource-efficient, ecological, competitive and social economy is one of the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
- having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its entry into force in the Union on 21.01.2011, according to the Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the European Community, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities[1] , [1] OJ L 23, 27.1.2010, p. 35
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 b (new)
Citation 14 b (new)
- having regard to the communication from the Commission of 21 September 2010 on Strategy for Equality between Women and Men 2010-2015 (COM(2010)0491),
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 c (new)
Citation 14 c (new)
- having regard to the Council conclusions of 7 March 2011 on the European Pact for gender equality for the period 2011-2020[1], [1] Council of the European Union Council Conclusions on the European Pact for Gender Equality for the period 2011-2020, 3073th Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council meeting, Brussels, 7 March 2011
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Endorses the more effective use of funds for the development of new skills and the creation of new jobs, including in the burgeoning ‘green economy’; this involves principally the European Social Fund (ESF), the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRD), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), the Lifelong Learning programme and the Progress programme; in this regard highlights the contribution of Cohesion Policy to the resource efficient Europe flagship initiative and its potential for sustainable growth to be considered; underlines the potential of a new sustainable economy and the specific need to develop green skills in order to allow workers to profit by this potential and to use the knowledge of civil society stakeholders on ecological and environmental issues by involving them in the drafting, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of the National Reform Programmes;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the promotion of a social, resource-efficient, ecological and competitive economy is one of the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy,
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the service sector, such as sales, security, cleaning, catering and caringoften characterised by low quality jobs and highly feminised, is still expected to provide most job growth between now and 2020 and could be the fastest growing area; whereas work in the services sector is characterised by high turnover both as regards workplaces and staff; whereas the sector needs to ensure better working conditions so that both workers and employers can profit from further job creation and maintenance,
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Agrees with enhancing the impact of the cohesion policy instruments, including the ESF, by focusing on concentrating financial resources on a smaller number of priorities, strengthening conditionality for institutional reforms, reinforcing the partnership principle, emphasising clear and measurable targets and establishing development and partnership investment contracts between the Commission and the Member States;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Supports policies designed to promote job creation taking into account the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, which provide two thirds of all jobs in the private sector; calls on the Member States and the Commission to address in particular women's entrepreneurship which has remained stagnant over the last decade, to provide them with a friendly environment for job creation and safeguarding of jobs and to improve their access to finance;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the long term sustainability of training and higher education depends on various things, such as the state of public finances and, individual perceptions and the availability of care services, particularly child-care and dependent persons care,
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Attaches importance to effective incentives and cost-sharing schemes with the aim of increasing public and private investment in the systematic training of workers and in Lifelong Learning focusing on ICT and digital literacy; underlines the importance to improve the access of people to ICT independent from their place of residence and social situation;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the number of jobs demanding higher qualifications is expected to rise and additional new sustainable qualifications will be needed for all skill segments,
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that the exchange of experience and the creation of networks between higher education institutions, research establishments and business centres as well as public institutions and local authorities is important for raising skills levels and adapting to the needs of the labour market; calls on local and regional authorities to promote the European Eco-Management & Audit Scheme (EMAS) and to encourage all economic sectors to strive to achieve EMAS registration; calls for the setting up of vocational guidance programmes for local and regional administrations in order to increase the general knowledge on ecological and environmental issues with a view to promote the development of a sustainable economy;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas migration, within, as well as into and out of, the EU, will increasingly influence the future size and composition of the working population in Member States and has important implications for skill demand and supply; whereas the competences and skills of workers with a migration background and of migrant workers are neither properly recognised nor exploited to the full at the workplace, since a disproportionately high number of such workers are employed in jobs for which they are greatly over-qualified,
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to promote European centres of excellence within new academic specialisations for tomorrow’s jobs; underlines that, especially in urban areas, regional and local authorities are the best positioned and most capable of creating the conditions necessary for the growth of clusters of innovative enterprises; points out that such clustering can act as a decisive spur to local economic development and can create new jobs in regions;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to adopt measures to remove administrative and legal obstacles in order to increase labour mobility, both in the recognition of qualifications and in the portability of supplementary pension rights; welcomes the Commission’s initiative to reform the European Employment Services EURES network in order to improve services for mobile workers and jobseekers particularly in border regions; stresses that EURES has a key role in advising mobile workers and jobseekers as regards their rights and that this helps to deliver on a true internal market; underlines the important role of social partners regarding advice for workers in cross- border partnerships in order to improve the economic situation in border regions.
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas the European Commission with the New Skills and Jobs communication has missed the opportunity to address the potential of a new sustainable economy and the specific need to develop green skills in order to allow workers to profit from this potential; whereas the European Parliament and the European Council have repeatedly stressed the opportunities of a transition to a more sustainable economy for employment in Europe; whereas the recent study by CEDEFOP provides ample evidence of the importance and the need of new skills for green jobs in the future European labour market,
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)
Recital J b (new)
Jb. whereas gender gaps still remain in EU labour markets, including gender pay gap, gaps in part-time versus full time rates, gaps in employment rates, gap regarding the effect of parenthood on employment rates, gender pension gaps; whereas gender roles and labour market segregation in employment are a major obstacle to the functioning of EU labour market; whereas a new sustainable economy will take shape in an ageing society with a shrinking workforce, making it necessary to attract more women to perform paid labour by adapting work organisation and preparing employers in all sectors for a more diverse workforce,
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J c (new)
Recital J c (new)
Jc. whereas targeted and adapted up- skilling is essential to help people acquire new skills so that they can profit from the transition towards a more sustainable economy; whereas there are convincing economic arguments for up-skilling, labour market integration and social inclusion; whereas reducing investment in up-skilling will create a negative long- term impact,
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J d (new)
Recital J d (new)
Jd. whereas the proliferation of atypical employment contracts in most Member States has tended to aggravate labour market segmentation and to reduce the security of the most vulnerable; whereas there is a need for enhancing decent work and quality employment when investing in new jobs,
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Regrets that the Commission Communication ‘New Skills and Jobs’ does not deliver on its promises but simply tries to regroup old solutions in a new format; regrets that the Communication does not address the job creation potential of the Green Economy, ignores the urgent challenges related to precarious work, unemployment and poverty and does not cover the gender dimension; calls on the European Commission to make a fresh and powerful effort to finally deliver on the key challenges of a Social Europe such as addressing inequalities, the risk of exclusion and poverty and a true improvement of working and living conditions; stresses that economic governance needs to go hand in hand with sound employment and social policies, installing minimum standards for workers across the EU;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that, within the Europe 2020 strategy, Member States agreed on an employment target of 75% for the 20-64 years age group by 2020 and are requested to address barriers to women’s participation in the labour-market when implementing the Strategy[1]; calls on all stakeholders to intensify their efforts to make the Europe 2020 strategy a success;mplement the inclusion priority of the Europe 2020 Strategy and the integrated guidelines 7 to 10, involving civil society stakeholders in the drafting, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of the National Reform Programmes; stresses that most National Reform Programmes fall short of meeting both the employment and the poverty target; [1] See paragraph 5 of the Council Conclusions on the European Pact for Gender Equality for the period 2011- 2020,
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Regrets that the Commission has ignored the European Parliament's and European Council's conclusions on the potential of a new sustainable economy as well as the CEDEFOP analysis of the need for new skills for green jobs in the future; calls on the Commission to remedy this shortcoming by presenting a more integrated approach to new green skills in the planned communication on jobs in the new sustainable economy; calls on the European Commission to ensure that the environmental experts within the Commission are fully involved in this process;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points out that the employment rate is closely linked toand economic performance are mutually reinforcing; strongly recommends that the Member States follow the guidelines for employment policies togetherjointly with broad economic policy guidelines in order to promote the creation of quality employment;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for a better coordination and the promotion of sustainable development of economic policies between; urges Member States in order to avoid unfair competition and market distortion; urges Member States to respect the rules on budgetary discipline in order to diminish the risk of falling into excessive deficit and calls on the Commission for an effective budgetary surveillance; and the EU to deliver on the social impact assessments as required in Art. 9 TFEU across all relevant policy fields and to take the social costs of rigid budgetary discipline and austerity measures into consideration, which risk jeopardising the necessary investments in skills development and new quality jobs;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Supports the Commission'’s flagship initiative within the Europe 2020 strategy to make the change towards a sustainable economy and urgently awaits action from the European Commission to deliver on the employment side of promoting the flagship initiative of a more sustainable economy; points out that the European Commission's performance regarding this flagship initiative can only be assessed by taking the employment perspective into account;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that the combination of demographic change and changes in production chainrecent economic and labour market developments calls for better employment, education and work organisation strategies in order to maximise the competitiveness of the European economy, minimiimprove the working and living conditions in the EU, create new decent work, universal access to lifelong learning, qualification and skills, upgrading or re-skilling and effective combating of discrimination on the labour market; stresses the loss of human capital and create new job possibilitiesat targeted and adapted up-skilling is essential to help people acquire the necessary skills to profit from the transition towards a more sustainable economy; stresses the economic arguments for up-skilling, labour market integration and social inclusion;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Emphasises that migrant workers, while strongly contributing to our productivity and economic growth, are particularly vulnerable and require special attention in terms of decent working and living conditions as well as access to social and health services, education and training; welcomes with regard to this the agenda’s key action 7 announcing the launch of a New Agenda for Integration of third country nationals, aiming, inter alia, at the mainstreaming of integration priorities of the Member States in all relevant policy areas;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that national flexicurity arrangements must be strengthened and adapted to the new socio-economic contexts of each individual Member Starebalanced by adapting social security schemes that enhance active inclusion by guaranteeing an individually granted, in accordance with poverty-proven minimum income, access to decent work and to affordable qualitsy specific needs, in orervices of general interest; considers to ensure a flexible and active labour market, efficient training and secure social security systemhat adequate social protection is a prerequisite for: - a sustainable social market economy, - an integrative and flexible labour market, - enabling people to alternate in a more flexible way between periods of employment and unemployment, training and re-skilling, - enabling business to adapt to new demands; warns against one-size-fits-all solutions;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Regrets that for many workers the reconciliation of work and family life remains a difficult task, which mainly hinders women from equal participation in the labour market; calls on the Member States to give all parents, especially single- parent families, opportunities for integration not only into working life but also into lifelong learning processes; encourages Member States to work towards a fair share of unpaid work between women and men by ensuring paid parental leave measures and the development of paid leave for care responsibilities; calls on the Commission to complement the existing legal framework on work/life balance, including provisions on paternity leave and leave for dependants other than children; calls on the Council to approve the draft legislative proposal regarding pregnant workers[1] (Maternity directive), [1] European Parliament legislative resolution of 20 October 2010 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 92/85/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding, P7_TA(2010)0373
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Regrets that the Commission ignores the urgent need to overcome the shortcomings in European labour law which lead to a continuous violation of the principle of equal pay for equal work at the same workplace; deplores that instead of strengthening the equal pay principle both in relation to free movement of workers and to gender inequality, the Commission introduces a new concept of inequalities with its proposal for a ‘single open-ended contracts’ that would give young workers considerable less rights at the beginning of their working career; stresses that research indicates clearly that reducing rights does not help job creation but that a stable set of rights is a pre-requisite for flexible labour markets;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the Commission'’s initiative to produce an EU Skills Panorama and to reform the European Employment Services EURES network in order to improve transparency for jobseekerservices for mobile workers and jobseekers; stresses that EURES has a key role in advising mobile workers and jobseekers as regards their rights and that this helps to deliver on a true internal market; underlines the important role of social partners regarding advice for workers in cross-border partnerships; stresses that EURES as a best practice for promoting fair mobility needs to be given the necessary resources to answer to the challenges of the European Labour Market and also in future support the important work of social partners in border regions;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for better monitoring of the upcoming skill demand in Europe and for an immediate transposition of the findings into education and the lifelong learning policies as well as budgetary policy of the Member States; considers that a ‘knowledge alliance’ that brings together business, social partners, associations and education institutions would be an useful instrument in addressing innovation and skills gaps;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Regrets that the number of early school-leavers still remains high; calls on the Member States to implement policies to prevent early school leaving and to offer learning and training alternatives to students with learning difficulties; and to develop a coherent, holistic, long term approach to early childhood education and care as proposed in the relevant Commission’s Communication[1] [1] European Commission Early Childhood Education and Care: Providing all children with the best start for the world of tomorrow, COM(2011)66
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Welcomes the Commission'’s proposal to promote European centres of excellence within new academic specialisations for tomorrow'’s jobs; underlines that, especially in urban areas, regional and local authorities are the best positioned and most capable of creating the conditions necessary for the growth of clusters of innovative enterprises; points out that such clustering can act as a decisive spur to local economic development and can create new jobs in regions;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Encourages Member States to integrate ICT competences, digital literacy and transversal key competences such as communication in foreign languages, as well as entrepreneurship, into their vocational training and lifelong learning polictransversal key competences for personal fulfilment and development, active citizenship and employment, creativity, cultural awareness and intercultural capacities, mobility, social and democratic competences, into their vocational training and lifelong learning policies; stresses in this regard the importance of promoting and recognising both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills to improve people’s employment opportunities;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Encourages Member States to implement a dual system of education/training in order to introduce young people to the labour market from the earliest stage; calls, furthermore, calls on relevant stakeholders to ensure thate quality of traineeships and apprenticeships which should be an educational experience and lead to the provision of new jobs;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Stresses the expected skills shortage in the field of informatics and engineering; calls for a specific EU initiative to attract girls to the MINT professions (mathematics, informatics, natural sciences and technology) and to combat the stereotypes that still dominate these professions; stresses that the role of the media and education is key in combating such stereotypes;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Considers it necessary to improve mutual recognition of competences, diplomas and skills at EU level, including those acquired in non-formal and informal education with the same recognition being extended to workers from third countries;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to stimulate creation of small and medium-sized enterprises, to provide them with a regulatory friendly environment and to address in particular women’s entrepreneurship which has remained stagnant over the last decade, to provide them with a friendly environment for job creation and safeguarding of jobs and to improve their access to finance; recalls that 85% of jobs in the EU are provided by SMEs; urges all relevant stakeholders to remove barriers to business creation and its free movement;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the Commission to officially recognise the contribution made by social economy enterprises to the EU 2020 objectives, particularly in the area of increasing employment and reducing social exclusion, and to establish a legal framework characterising mutual societies, associations and foundations by their aims and distinctive form of social economic actors;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Considers that a barrier-free and competitive single market has to be completedgo hand in hand with labour legislation that creates a level playing field, strong social security schemes, portability of rights and benefits in order to facilitate free movement of workers; in this regard, calls on the Commission and Member States to work closely with social partners and to encourage sharing of best practice and experience in this area and to ensure the portability of social rights for all workers;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Strongly condemns undeclared work which endangers both society and workers; calls on the Member States to carry out regular checks and to initiate information campaigns in order to raise awareness of the rights of workers and the long-term disadvantages for workers employed in the black economy; calls on Member States to create incentives for employers to offer legal employment opportunities and to reduce incentives for precarious work or false self-employment such as lower social security contributions or tax cuts;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers that the health-care sector has a critical role to play in achieving the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy; furthermore considers that, because of demographic change, the health and social care sector is an important employer, whose significance is likely to grow and a key contributor to social inclusion; calls on the European Commission to support and implement the (expected) ILO convention supplemented by a recommendation on domestic workers in order to improve the often inhuman working conditions for workers in this sector; calls on the Commission to initiate a study on care assistants employed in clients'’ homes in order to establish whether EU legislation provides sufficient social protection for this category of workers which are primarily women;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Stresses the potential of social, health, care and education services to create new employment and demands a strong and sustainable investment in these key services and infrastructures as well as for decent working conditions to support quality service provision; looks forward to the Commission’s action plan to address the gap in the supply of health workers;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. NotCriticises that flexicurity policies of the 20th century are put at the centre of the Agenda, andNew Skills and Jobs Agenda; shares the Commission'’s assessment that the crisis has put national flexicurity arrangements to a serious test showing often its failures especially as regards young workers;
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Stresses, however, that flexicurity alone cannot remedy the crisis and calls on the Commission, Member States and the social partners to pay special attention to workers fromvulnerable and disadvantaged groups, such as young people, low-skilled workers and workers with disabilities;workers,
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Underlines that, in order to emerge stronger from the economic crisis, to become more competitive and convergent, with higher levels of growth, and to secure our welfare systems in the long term, Europe needs toand to improve both the labour market and the fight for social inclusion, Europe needs to make better use of its labour force potential and to address the needs of workers so that the labour marke full use of its labour force potentialt creates the working conditions which allow individuals to remain active along the working biography;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Stresses the importance of mainstreaming the rights of persons with disabilities in the implementation of the Agenda, as well as in all aspects of the Europe 2020 strategy; calls upon the Commission to take appropriate measure to promote development of and access to universally designed goods and services as enshrined in Article 29 of the UN CRPD, including exchange of best practices;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Emphasises that better and stronger EU policies promoting gender equality and the reconciliation of work, family and private life canshould contribute to increased participation of women and men in the labour market;
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Considers that pursuing the objective of full employment has to be complemented by strengthened efforts to improve the job quality, working and living conditions and pay particularly in light of the persistent gender pay gap of all employees;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Considers that job quality has to be promoted as a multidimensional concept, covering both employment relations and work itself; calls on the Commission to accept that economic governance without employment and social governance will not function; calls on all actors at EU level to cooperate in creating a joint European approach to Decent Work and Job Creation by ensuring a safety net of minimum standards, adequate health and safety protection and properly implemented labour law; calls on the Commission to step up efforts to review the EU definition and common indicators of job quality, to make them more operational for the evaluation and benchmarking of Member States'’ policies; considers that social dialogue plays an important role in promoting decent work and quality employment and thus calls on involving key stakeholders in the field of industrial relations in such a review;
Amendment 356 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Emphasises the importance of integrating stakeholders'’ efforts to improve job quality and the use of appropriate policy instruments, including legislation, policy coordination, strengthening the exchange of good practice and autonomous agreements of the social partners;
Amendment 359 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Considers that adequate social protection should be at the core of employment quality and thus also of the job quality concept; considers that poverty-preventing social protection should be at the core of quality employment and thus of the concept of job quality;
Amendment 361 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Encourages the Commission to strive for a more ambitious Agenda on New Skills and Jobs addressing areas with true job potential such as the green sustainable economy as well as current key challenges of labour law; deplores the current lack of drive and action especially as regards challenges relating to sustainable green jobs; stresses that the EU will lose leadership regarding exploiting the job potential of the new sustainable economy to emerging economies and the United States if the matters of up-skilling, innovation, investments in sustainable economy and high quality social security systems underlining decent work are not addressed; encourages the Commission to complete its pre-legislative activities and put forward the legislative proposals announced in the Agenda, fully respecting the outcome of its economic and social impact assessment and the autonomy of the social partners; welcomes the Commission'’s plans to review the effectiveness of the legislation concerning job quality and working conditions, taking due account of developments;