There are nearly 18 million jobless people in Europe, and nearly half have been without work for more than a year.

Unemployment in the UK is considerably below the European average, and is falling.

European jobless totals:

• United Kingdom 7.3%,
• Germany 9.5%,
• Belgium 9.6%,
• Italy 12.4%,
• France 12.5%,
• Finland 15.3%,
• Spain 21%.

The European Commissioner Jacques Santer and the Social Affairs Commissioner Padraig Flynn are key speakers at the conference, which will try to work out how to reduce unemployment by a third over the next five years.

There have been unemployment demonstrations

Even this target is less ambitious than it used to be. Initially the EU wanted to halve unemployment by the year 2,000.

Training is seen as the best way to get people off the dole queues and into work. In Europe one in 10 unemployed people is currently offered a place on a training scheme.

Jacques Santer would like to see this increase to one in four.

The EU also believes that by lifting the restrictions on hours and conditions of work, companies will be encouraged to create jobs which will translate into lower levels of unemployment across Europe.