European Union employment strategy, dating back to 1997, has established common objectives for employment policy and contributed to ‘soft coordination’ among the Member States. Creating more and better jobs was one of the main goals of the Europe 2020 strategy. In the March 2021 European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, the Commission proposed new and more ambitious targets in employment policy as well as concrete actions for a fair, equitable and well-functioning labour market. EU law is relevant in certain areas, even if the responsibility for employment policy lies primarily with national governments. Employment policy is monitored and assessed in the European Semester. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP Read more