The European Commission has announced that it will present a Quality Jobs Roadmap in the fourth quarter of 2025. As part of this process, the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise has submitted a written contribution outlining our key messages. This input builds on consultations held during the spring and reflects our overarching perspective: that competitive businesses, skills development, and well-functioning labour markets are the foundations for quality jobs in Europe. Furthermore, the Swedish Enterprise also supports the views presented by BusinessEurope.
We welcome the roadmap’s emphasis on job creation, incentives to work, and labour market dynamism. But for the initiative to deliver real impact, it must also address Europe’s structural weaknesses – in particular, low productivity, persistent skills shortages, and declining competitiveness. These factors are critical to reversing stagnation and enabling long-term, sustainable job creation.
At the same time, we are concerned that the role of employers is largely absent from the roadmap’s background note. The term “employer” does not appear once, despite the fact that jobs – quality or otherwise – cannot exist without them. The roadmap should better reflect the diversity of business models, sectoral conditions, and the importance of a healthy investment climate. Clearer links should also be made to the EU’s Competitiveness Compass, the Union of Skills, and industrial strategies.
Defining what makes a job “quality” must also be done with care. People’s expectations and needs vary throughout life – from students entering the workforce to parents balancing work and family, or older workers preparing for retirement. For many, flexible forms of work such as part-time or remote arrangements are not problems to be solved but valuable solutions. Attempting to define job quality too narrowly risks excluding important and legitimate employment models. From our perspective, all productive jobs offered in compliance with national labour law and collective agreements, and adaptable to changing needs, are quality jobs.
Skills provision must be at the heart of the roadmap. Addressing mismatches between labour market needs and available competences is central to both quality employment and business performance. Sweden’s model of social partner-led transition systems shows how individuals can be supported through change, with strong outcomes for workers and companies alike. EU action should help unlock further investment in training.
In a similar vein, digitalisation and the use of AI in the workplace should be approached constructively. Many of the challenges related to new technologies are already covered by existing EU legislation and collective agreements. Additional regulation risks overlapping with these frameworks and undermining innovation. What is needed is effective implementation of current rules and continued social dialogue – not duplication.
Respect for social partner autonomy must also be preserved. While collective bargaining can contribute to job quality, it is not a prerequisite. Many quality jobs are created outside collective agreements, and different models exist across the EU. The Commission should refrain from intervening in national labour relations systems or promoting top-down solutions.
Ultimately, the success of the roadmap will depend on whether it strengthens Europe’s capacity to grow, innovate, and adapt. That means putting skills, competitiveness, and employer perspectives at the centre of policy. Without the right conditions for companies to thrive, quality jobs cannot be sustained – no matter how well-intentioned the strategy may be.
Read our full written input in the document below.