Background

The concept of the Territorial Employment Pacts is that it should be a tool for efforts to develop new and innovative ideas focusing on job-creation and finding new approaches towards the labour market. The Oresund Region is a relevant choice for a model project as this region crosses two national borders (two EU member states) and comprises of resourceful parts of Denmark and Sweden.

"Letter of intent", advocating that the Oresund region should become a Model Region in the EU, was signed by the two Prime Ministers, Mr. Poul Nyrup Rasmussen of Denmark, and Mr. Göran Persson of Sweden, together with the chairman of the Oresund Committee Mr. Ilmar Reepalu, Lord Major of the city of Malmö and the vice-chairman Mr. Jens Kramer Mikkelsen, Lord Major of the city of Copenhagen.

The Oresund Committee was established in 1993 by the local and regional authorities, together with the national authorities, as the regional policy forum for the cross-border co-operation between Copenhagen and Scania. Therefore, the Oresund Committee has been appointed as the responsible body for the work with the Territorial Employment Pact in the Oresund region.

From a record low in 1996 where 150.000 were registered as unemployed, this has shown a steady and encouraging improvement since then. Approximately 10 billion EUR is being invested in infrastruture in this region. Physical investment in transnational infrastructure is fundamental for the integration of the two parts of the region. But as important as the new bridge crossing the Oresund is that the borders are bridged, inter alia legal and administrative systems, and replaced by new systems that facilitate the free movement of workforce, as well as free movement of goods, services and capital. There is a strong desire to harmonise legislation and public administration procedures in the two regions in order to maximize the benefits of the new opportunities.

Conceptual ideas for The Oresund TEP

The Oresund region as a pan national region will contribute to the development of a fertile environment of an experimental nature, which should benefit the creation of special conditions for new growth and innovative methods in the efforts to stimulate employment. The partnership for the employment pact builds on 3 major pillars with the clear objective to fulfil the commitments in the Essen strategy for employment growth in Europe:

1. Economic growth and job-creation
The objective is to make the region a dynamic growth center in Northern Europe, stimulating trade and development in the whole Baltic Sea region.

2. Social inclusion
Integration of young people in working life; Prevention of long term unemployment; Mainstreaming employment policy for equal opportunities by improving employability of jobseekers etc.

3. Ecological sustainability
Both Denmark and Sweden has for many years pursued active environmental policies with good results. However, the big urban concentrations create new environmental problems that must be tackled. The aim is to generate new jobs in the "green sectors" and provide the region with a marked environmental profile and ensure an environmentally sustainable growth.

As mentioned in the Essen strategy "Employment is a matter of common concern" and the Oresund Territorial Employment Pact will draw up an action plan focusing on 4 levels of interaction:

1. The Labour market
2. The industry
3. The universities
4. The users

The aim is to bring together the well functioning elements with the weaker groupings in the society, such as long term unemployed, Immigrants, disabled etc. The users of the labour market policy is indeed an important target group for the TEP. Allready a Youth Forum has been established with representatives from the youth organisations within the political parties in Denmark and Sweden. Similar groupings are under establishment with other relevant users groups such as immigrants, women, long term unemployed, disabled etc.

The themes of the action plan

The pan national approach is considered very important and will be dominating in all activities and projects. Cross-cultural experiences of differences and similarities generate new energy, fresh ideas and unique opportunities for new actions. In line with the strategy the following themes will be in focus:

Entrepreneurship and selfdependence culture
What is needed to stimulate more young people to become more self-dependent and create new business opportunities?

Employability and possible skills gap
According to statistics there will be a dramatic change within a few years in the number of young people entering the labour market. It is estimated that approximately 10 % of the present work force will need a completely new education and that around 90% will need further education in order to meet the changing demands in the industry over the coming years.

Adaptability
Due to structural changes on the labour market and changes in the organisation of work the need for a flexible workforce is becoming more essential. How do we organise society, incl. the social security systems, to meet the challenges of new organisations of work?

Equal opportunities
We want more women on the labour market in general and more specific, we want more women in higher positions both within the private- and public sector. Equal job = equal pay!

Harmonisation in order to create similar conditions for business etc.
In order to avoid social dumping, fiscal dumping, and unwanted speculation in national currencies etc., the action plan will put a special emphasis on how to create a business environment which is practically similar on both sides of the Oresund.

Statistics & Analysis
In order to monitor the development of the labour market, a series of analysis and scientific reports will be initiated. The goal is to get an in-depth knowledge on the current as well as the future labour market situation in the Oresund region, and thereby try to forecast possible bottle-necks where the demand for skilled labour is much higher than the actual supply.

Ombudsman function
For many people living in the Oresund region it is a common experience that it is difficult to get a simple answer to questions regarding the differences between the two countries, e.g. with respect to labour market policies, fiscal policies, social policies, differences in tax and duties etc.

Being a model region, we want to focus on this issue and be able to take action so that the frequently asked questions can be answered correctly within a very short time. The ombudsman function should be designed to help people solve their practical problems of living and working in two different countries and - when relevant - lift out the problems from a regional context to the national level.
We anticipate that this ombudsman service will be provided through network co-operation with relevant contact persons within ministries, local- and regional authorities, associations, the Eures service etc. on both sides of the Oresund.

The social sector
In the near future we will see a dramatic increase in the number of persons in need of the different welfare services provided by the public sector (hospitals etc.) to take care of a growing elderly population. At the same time the birth rate in Europe has been low for many years and the number of new born European citizens is not high enough to compensate for the deathrate. All in all there is reason to believe that more and more people will need the services provided by only a few. How can we solve this problem ?

Further, it is likely that the private sector will attract young people by offering higher wages and more status than the public sector can provide. Therefore, there is a need within the society in general and the public sector in particular to find new and innovative approaches in order to stimulate young people to take social responsibility and work within the social sector - at least for a limited period of time in their lives.

Another factor that will stress the need for welfare services, is the question of equal opportunities leading to a higher demand for good care of children, quality in schools etc.

TEP-activities in progress:

The Oresund Labour Market Council: A merger at the operative level between the Employment Service of Greater Copenhagen and of Scania in Sweden.

The Oeresund University provides a network of 15 universities and institutions for higher education within the Oresund region. The objective is to attract international scientists, develop a centre of competence within the Bio-medical sector and other relevant sectors (Information technology, environment, etc.), initiate the process of mutual recognition of curriculum’s from the different countries, universities and education institutions, and to provide the 120.000 students at university level in the region with better opportunities to move between the universities and to combine their specific education according to their personal wishes.

Medicon Valley Academy. MVA aims at promoting the "medicon" field within the region as well as outside the region and to facilitate cooperation between universities, industry and hospitals in order to strengthen the competitiveness in the Oresund region.

The Öresund Business Group: A project initiated by the Confederation of Danish Industries, the Danish Chamber of Commerce and company CEOs in order to formulate a joint document on visions and strategies for the industrial development within the Oresund region.

The Scania Manifest: A project initiated by the Chamber of Commerce of Southern Sweden where companies in Scania have formulated their visions and strategies for business co-operation within the Oresund region.

The TEP-Roundtable: The first ordinary meeting with key-partners involved in the Oresund Territorial Employment Pact took place on 29 October 1997. The purpose of the Roundtable is to exchange views and ideas regarding the progress of the Pact. The Roundtable will meet again regularly during the work with the TEP.