The candidate countries wishing to become members of the European Union must align their economic and employment policies at the Community level, in such a way as to create a level playing field with those of the fifteen current member states of the EU: so says a report issued by the Commission of employment and social affairs of the European Parliament on the progress made by policies for employment in the candidate countries. The report was approved by the EP itself on 23 September. It describes the main trends of the labour market in the candidate countries and makes some recommendations. Considering that the basis for achieving competitiveness ought to be a better coordination between employment, professional training and the social sector, the MEPs recall that the fundamental premise for the success of any economic restructuring is investment in education and training, also by making the learning process possible throughout working life. They underline the need to adopt specific measures to guarantee equality of treatment, in terms of employment, for the disabled, for women and for minorities.
