What is EURES ?
The European employment services (EURES) is a European cooperation network between the European Commission, the European Labour Authority (ELA), the national public and other admitted employment services in all the EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. EURES facilitates the free movement of workers by providing information and employment support services to workers and employers, and by enhancing cooperation and information exchange between its member organisations.
Read the EURES Regulation (EU) 2016/589.
Governance of the EURES network
The activities of the EURES network are supported by the European Coordination Office (ECO) managed by the European Labour Authority. Each participating country (31) designates a National Coordination Office (NCO), generally linked to either their Public Employment Services (PES) or their Ministry of Labour. All NCOs, the European Commission and ECO are exchanging information and supporting the implementation of the EURES Regulation in the EURES Coordination Group (ECG). Representatives of the social partners at EU level have the right to attend the meetings of the ECG.
Which services does EURES provide?
Jobseekers can move to other countries to look for and take up a job. On the other hand, employers can recruit candidates within the EU countries, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, thanks to the EURES network.
A broad range of services is available on the EURES portal and more than a thousand EURES Advisers, working in the EURES Member and Partner organisations, will be happy to provide support during and after the recruitment process.
EURES available services:
- Matching job vacancies and CVs on the EURES portal;
- Information, guidance and other support services for workers and employers;
- Updated information about living and working conditions in EURES countries;
- Specific support services for frontier workers and employers in cross-border regions;
- Support seasonal workers and employers, dealing with temporary job placements in another country;
- Support to specific groups using Targeted Mobility Schemes;
- The organisation of Job Days all over Europe, through the European (Online) Job Days platform;
- Language training and support with integration in the destination country;
- Information on and access to assistance after getting a job.
EURES and ELA together for fair and effective mobility
The European Labour Authority (ELA) coordinates the EURES network since 2021. EURES and ELA share the mission of ensuring that workers' rights are recognised, when they move to another EU country, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland and employers can hire candidates from these countries without barriers.
In the medium to long term, ELA’s goal is to maximise synergies between EURES and all other ELA activities, especially provision of information, and improve EURES' services from a digital and technological point of view.
More importantly, EURES can be further strengthened in the context of ELA. For example, with the increased cross-border cooperation that ELA promotes by streamlining the activities of existing networks, such as the European Platform tackling undeclared work.
The European Commission remains an important partner of the EURES network. The political steer including legislation, reporting, evaluation, and grant management remain under the Commission framework.