EURES is a cooperation network whose purpose is to facilitate the free movement of workers in the area of the free European labour market made up of the Member States of the European Economic Area and Switzerland. It was established in 1993 and launched in 1994 as a tool to improve mobility, i.e. the spatial and professional mobility of the workforce on the European labour market. The network is composed of National Coordination Offices for EURES (NCOs), EURES Members (public employment services and other organisations) and EURES Partners, and is coordinated by the European Coordination Office for EURES.
EURES staff are in daily contact with employers and jobseekers across Europe, providing three core EURES services: information, guidance, and recruitment and placement services to facilitate contact between employers and jobseekers in the European labour market. EURES staff are familiar with the practical, legal and administrative prerequisites for mobility at European level, working within the public employment service or other organisations in the EURES network.
The objectives of EURES are to promote the development of a single European labour market open to all workers from EU Member States, the transnational, interregional and cross-border exchange of job vacancies and applications for employment, as well as transparency and exchange of information on individual national/regional labour markets, living conditions, education, and methodology and indicators at statistical level.