The examination of the Member States’ draft national reform programmes, contained in the Joint Employment Report adopted by the Council on 28 February 2013, shows that Member States should continue to make every effort to address the following priorities: increasing labour market participation and reducing structural unemployment, developing a skilled workforce responding to labour market needs and promoting job quality and lifelong learning, improving the performance of education and training systems at all levels and increasing part ...[+++]icipation in tertiary education, promoting social inclusion and combating poverty.

The examination of the Member States’ draft national reform programmes, contained in the Joint Employment Report adopted by the Council on 28 February 2013, shows that Member States should continue to make every effort to address the following priorities: increasing labour market participation and reducing structural unemployment, developing a skilled workforce responding to labour market needs and promoting job quality and lifelong learning, improving the performance of education and training systems at all levels and increasing part ...[+++]icipation in tertiary education, promoting social inclusion and combating poverty.

Emphasises that the family is a cornerstone of our society and is inherently associated with the transmission of values and with cooperation in a spirit of solidarity; underlines that introducing flexible working hours and providing teleworking opportunities, as well as extending child care and professionalising home help for the elderly, represent an important step towards making it possible to combine work and family life and to enhance equal participation of women and men in the labour market and in education and training; regrets the fact that the lack of adequate leave schemes, parental leave schemes and flexible working arrangeme ...[+++]nts for both parents often prevents women from participating actively in the labour market or from working full time; considers that this also requires a change in corporate cultures with regard to the appointment and employment of women; calls therefore on the Council, the Commission and the Member States to prevent cuts in benefits or social services in the field of childcare, care of the elderly and vulnerable people as a result of the economic and financial crisis;

Member States should integrate the flexicurity principles endorsed by the European Council into their labour market policies and apply them, making appropriate use of European Social Fund and other EU funds support, with a view to increasing labour market participation and combating segmentation, inactivity and gender inequality, whilst reducing structural unemployment.

As underlined by the Joint Council/Commission report on "Increasing labour force participation and promoting active ageing" presented to the Barcelona European Council, the quality of the jobs on offer has an influence on the decision to enter the labour market but also to stay in a job or on the labour market.

As underlined by the Joint Council/Commission report on "Increasing labour force participation and promoting active ageing" presented to the Barcelona European Council, the quality of the jobs on offer has an influence on the decision to enter the labour market but also to stay in a job or on the labour market.