In terms of living conditions, our Member States have been drifting apart instead of moving closer together...economic growth and social fairness must go hand-in-hand...We want to prioritise investment without forgetting human capital and related social investment, said EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Labor Mobility Marianne Thyssen at the launch of the 2016 European Semester on 26 November 2015.

...We need to ease transitions to new jobs and better match jobseekers and vacancies. I am very happy that negotiations to update the EURES job search platform have just been concluded successfully which aims to do exactly that. We still have 2 million vacancies unfilled in spite of millions of unemployed. Part of the answer is also to equip jobseekers with the right skills. This is precisely what I am intending to support with the skills agenda coming up early next year...Read full speech.