Brussels, 24/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - By invitation of José Luis Zapatero, Spanish Prime Minister, and José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, the Tripartite Social Summit for Growth and Employment is to meet in Brussels this Thursday 25 March, a few hours before the European Spring Council gets underway. President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, will address the opening of the Tripartite Social Summit. The commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion, László Andor, and the Spanish minister for employment and immigration, Celestino Corbacho, will speak towards the end of the morning. The European social partners - BusinessEurope representing the employers, ETUC representing the unions, UEAPME representing the craft sector and small and medium-sized businesses and CEEP representing providers of services of general interest - will be seeking to get across their ideas to break the recession. It appears that a consensus is already in place on the need to combine a recession exit strategy with an ambitious agenda of structural reform. It is worth noting that with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the Tripartite Social Summit has taken on increased significance and the role of the social partners on the European scene has been greatly boosted.
In the view of all of those taking part, it is vital that during these times of crisis, the EU gets across a message of unity and solidarity to the citizens. The European institutions have pledged to work hand-in-hand with the member states, the social partners and all interested parties to create a roadmap to redress the situation and set in place a proper strategy to make long-term growth a reality whilst guaranteeing social coherence and own funds and reinforcing the European social model. As José Luis Zapatero and José Manuel Barroso stressed in their letter of invitation, it is vital to support measures targeting the sectors of the economy, finance and employment until an economic re-balance is in place. Responses to the short-term consequences of this crisis situation must be applied whilst taking full account of the medium-term strategy which aims to make the EU an intelligent, green and inclusive economy, and to promote high competitive, social and environmental levels both within the EU and globally.
This means that coming out of crisis must be the "entrance to a new economy". Whilst guaranteeing more and better jobs and a proper transition to a low-carbon economy, the EU 2020 strategy must focus on social cohesion, education, training, lifelong learning, innovation, research and development. Strong governance structures are also required to ensure that the EU 2020 strategy is fully implemented. Targeted objectives and ambitious policies must lead to high levels of employment, whilst productivity and cohesion must be clarified and implemented by means of improved coordination between the Member States and with appropriate levels of commitment on the part of the social partners. In conclusion, the Tripartite Social Summit will provide an opportunity to get together with representatives of the social partners to discuss recession exit strategies in the short term, the long-term challenges facing the EU and the political responses to be made. (G.B./transl.fl)