Brussels, 28/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - The meeting between the European Union and the European social partners highlighted the need to stimulate growth and employment through increased cooperation and better governance.
It looks as though 2010 will deliver a better result than previous years, with growth possibly around 2%. Many problems remain, however, and to deal with them, “we need to mobilise the same resolve to address the economic and social challenges we are facing. We together have to link the exit strategy to reduce public debts and to prevent a further currency crisis with the entry strategy for growth, jobs and social inclusion,” said permanent European Council President Herman Van Rompuy. As part of the exit strategy, the task force report, to be discussed by the Council (see related article) on the same afternoon, 28 October, “will induce a major improvement in the economic governance of the EU and the euro area,” he said. An exit strategy to be combined with an entry strategy at the heart of which is the EU 2020 strategy for growth and jobs. “We have learnt our lessons: Europe cannot deliver a one-size-fits-all concept. We need a tailor-made design for each member state. To this objective we agreed that social partners need to actively take part and cooperate in the pending process to identify the specific national bottlenecks,” Van Rompuy went on. He said that he was “convinced that if we successfully combine the results of the task force with a common and fierce implementation of the EU 2020 strategy, we get out of the crisis with a strengthened European economic and social model”.
Fully agreeing with the picture painted by Van Rompuy, that “the situation is better than last year”, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said there was no room for any cockiness: employment levels were not that high. The lessons had to be learned from the crisis, to which the positive response by the EU was only possible through joint action, close partnership among the European institutions and between the member states and social partners. Confidence had to be built up, he said. He spoke of the work the Commission had done recently with the initiative on the stimulation of the single market and the launch of its initiative on industrial policy. “We are pushing the industrial dimension. Let no one think that services are the backbone of Europe. Certainly not. Industry is essential and must be a model in this globalised age.” Barroso welcomed what had been said by SMEs (on the Small Business Act), European unions and the employers who spoke of the need for a good European budget. He said that a high level of investment was needed in Europe. Without a coordinated investment policy in Europe, growth would not be as good as hoped. There had to be partnership, he said, and the Commission is committed to social dialogue.
Acting Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme spoke of Belgium's ambition to anchor its social dialogue model at European level. “We are calling for anchorage and a period of cooperation at the highest level in economic governance and in the European semester timetable.” Adoption of the task force report is inseparable from the EU 2020 strategy for growth and jobs: a sound economic and budgetary policy creates the conditions for growth and is also the guarantor of the long-term survival of the European social model.
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) General Secretary John Monks repeated his warning on austerity measures, noting that moves to repay debts were being made too quickly in too short a space of time and that exit strategies could plunge Europe into a double dip recession (see EUROPE 10425).
Head of BusinessEurope Philippe de Buck said he hoped that the European Council would show its commitment to a more solid economic and budgetary policy so that Europe could move to a sound, solid budgetary position. It was important that the approach be dual, with exit strategies and also the need to strengthen the various factors of competitiveness (education, good, effective public services, etc.), he added.
CEEP President Carl Cederschiöld pointed out that public expenditure was the key to policy on growth and it was through it that the EU 2020 strategy's objectives could be met. Public services in Europe represent 26% of European GDP.
UEAPME President Georg Toifl said it was important that SMEs do not lose jobs in this period of crisis. Small businesses would continue to play a key role in solutions to the crisis and creating employment. (G.B./transl.rt)