Intro
Free movement of labour continues to be a heated topic on Europe’s agenda. Some member countries are still against the principal of labour mobility, which results in different treatment of nationalities within the EU and the BSR. The main theme behind this breakfast session was to solve some of these challenges within the scope of the Baltic Sea Region.
Main Messages
• Equal treatment for all member states in terms of labour mobility is a very important principle. – Andrus Ansip
• One way to increase labour force circulation in the BSR is to get rid of the transitional agreements, which were imposed during the accession period of the new member states. This way the new member countries can have the same basic rules and access to each other as the old ones.– Kim Graugaard
• It is most essential to combine the needs of companies that are looking for new employees and the need of the unemployed in different regions of Europe. – Kim Graugaard
• We have to do everything on the domestic and on the European stage to, firstly, create jobs and, secondly, allow people to get jobs in other countries and get back to their home countries. - Henryka Bochniarz
Themes
Current situation in labour markets
Prime Minister of Estonia, Andrus Ansip, stressed in his opening speech that free movement of labour is a very important principle for Estonians. Currently approximately 40.000 Estonians are working outside of Estonia, which the Prime Minister talks positively about. He believes it is an advantage that Estonians gain skills and knowledge abroad, which they can use when they return to their home country. He also pointed out that this trend goes both ways. In fact, many workers and students from EU member states have moved to Estonia, where the unemployment rate is only 4,5 %, and export and growth rates are increasing rapidly.
Deputy Director General of the Confederation of Danish Industries, Kim Graugaard, spoke of the enormous need to increase labour supply and mobility in Denmark (and the rest of the BSR), which is facing the challenge of an aging labour force. He pointed out that increasing labour mobility is needed more than ever now in the BSR in order to meet the rapidly changing demand of the globalized world. He underlined the striking fact that 80% of Danish companies are facing problems due to lack of skilled as well as unskilled labour. This problem is general for almost all BSR countries with Germany and Poland as exceptions, he said. In fact, Graugaard stressed that the lack of mobility is a missed opportunity for countries and regions, as in many places possibilities of economic growth and new jobs are lost, while other regions are fighting unemployment problems.
President of Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan, Henryka Bochniarz, in her speech referred to the study presented by the EU after two years of the enlargement, which clearly showed that free flow of labour in the enlarged Europe had a very positive impact on the economic growth of all member states. She, however, stressed that even though she is very much for an open labour market, an unrestricted policy on immigration is not a sufficient solution.
Barriers to labour mobility
Despite heavy labour shortage in many European countries, several barriers to a more flexible labour circulation still remain. Bochniarz talked about the Swedish example, which shows that in spite of the growing number of immigrants looking for work, it is hard for them to get a job due to the restrictions of the heavily regulated labour market. Therefore, making it easier for immigrants to obtain employment is a crucial challenge, she stressed.
Graugaard explained that labour mobility does not only have political and regulatory barriers; there are mental and attitude-related obstacles as well. For one, companies need to change their attitudes towards cross-border recruitment. Another practical restriction of attracting foreign labour is the lack of knowledge on the different taxation, social security and pension rules in neighbouring countries, which hinder labour mobility. Making work opportunities more visible and creating awareness of the local employment conditions and rules could be of help to encourage labour circulation, he stated.
Poland is the main source of skilled workers in Europe, where the rate of unemployment in very high. Bochniarz admitted that, as the representative of an employer organization, she would like to see the unemployed get jobs in Poland first, before going abroad. She stressed that without keeping skilled labour in the country, Poland will not be able to carry on with its 5% growth.
Børge Diderichsen from the audience commented on the importance of integrating North West Russia in the BSR labour force market, even though Russia is not an EU member country. Graugaard stated that Denmark is very open for highly-skilled people from all over the world, also outside of the EU.
How to increase labour force circulation
Evidence shows that the fear of a flood of workers from new member states of the EU is unfounded. On the contrary, workers from new member countries are helping to relieve labour market shortages and bottlenecks stimulating the economies of old members the same way as the workers from the old member states are stimulating each other’s economies, Graugaard said. Reports also showed that the primary reason for working abroad is to earn money in order to make a better living at home, and not to settle down in another country. Based on this, Graugaard moved to abandon transitional agreements (imposed during the accession process of new member states), so that new member countries can have the same basic rules and access to each other, as the old ones. Bochniarz agreed and pointed out that if we are talking about a common Europe, “we have to do everything on the domestic and on the European stage to, firstly, create jobs and, secondly, allow people to get jobs in other countries, and get back”. She emphasised that the biggest asset we have in the EU is the common market, including the job market, and using this asset is our only chance to compete successfully with other regions of the world. Graugaard agreed and stressed that policies supporting a positive view on labour mobility in the member states of the BSR and the EU is important to create. He pointed out that recently the Danish government has taken initiatives to use the foreign ministry and the embassies in a new way to support companies who try to recruit labour from other countries. Labour market authorities are also moving their perspective from a local and national level to a regional and cross-border scope. According to Graugaard, it is most essential to combine the needs of companies that are looking for new employees and the need of the unemployed in different regions of Europe.
Ansip pointed out that the Scanbalt Bioregion is a very good example for cross-border cooperation among scientists.
