On Monday, 23 February, the chairpersons of the Committees on Employment and Social Affairs from all EU member states will gather at the Saeima. This will be one of the six interparliamentary events organised by the Saeima within the framework of the parliamentary dimension of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The interparliamentary meeting, held in the Plenary Chamber of the Saeima, will be opened by Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima; Aija Barča, Chairperson of the Social and Employment Matters Committee; as well as Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Euro and Social Dialogue.
The meeting will consist of three sessions. The first session will be devoted to promoting inclusion of the most vulnerable groups into the labour market. Keynote speakers will include Uldis Augulis, Minister for Welfare of the Republic of Latvia; Juan Menéndez-Valdés, Director of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions; and Gunta Anča, President of the Board of the Latvian Umbrella Body for Disability Organisations SUSTENTO and Member of the European Economic and Social Committee.
The second session will be devoted to social entrepreneurship as a tool to achieve social objectives, and it will feature the following speakers: Agnes Jongerius, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs of the European Parliament; Ariane Rodert, Member of the European Economic and Social Committee; and Andris Bērziņš, President of the Samaritan Association of Latvia.
The third and final session will be devoted to assessing the first year of the implementation of the Youth Guarantee initiative. Participants will be addressed by Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility; Juras Požela, Chairman of the Commission for Youth and Sport Affairs of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania; and Emīls Anškens, Vice-President of the National Youth Council of Latvia.
The participants will have a chance to attend a photo exhibition - “Youth Employment in the European Union” – featuring works by Latvian schoolchildren and students, as well as an exhibition of arts and crafts made by the members of the Pensioners’ Opportunity Centre.
The participants will also be able to enjoy a musical performance by children and youths with special needs from the foundation “Come Along!”
During the break at 13:10, the traditional family photo of the chairpersons will be taken in the Plenary Chamber.
Live stream of the meeting will be available at the website of the Parliamentary Dimension of Latvian Presidency at www.parleu2015.lv. For the programme of the meeting, please visit http://parleu2015.lv/files/nodarbinatibas-konference/programme_eng_social_16-02-2015.pdf.
The meeting is scheduled to start on Monday, 23 February at 9:00 in the Plenary Chamber of the Saeima, Jēkaba iela 11.
Att. Media representatives:
Information on accreditation for events organised by the Saeima in the framework of the Latvian Presidency is available at: http://parleu2015.lv/en/media-1.
Saeima Press Service