Brussels, 23/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - The Tripartite Social Summit for growth and jobs meets in Brussels on Thursday morning 24 March. On the agenda for discussion are the issues which will be debated by heads of state or government: the economic situation, adoption of a package of measures to maintain financial stability, and laying the foundations for sustainable and job-creating growth. The Tripartite Social Summit will also discuss the priorities of the Commission's Annual Growth Survey, setting up solid governance, aiming to gear Europe towards sustainable growth and employment, in line with the EUROPE 2020 strategy. This is the message of the invitation letter sent to the European social partners by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. They state that, today, Europe is determined to get the economy moving to boost growth and the creation of high-quality jobs, to put in place effective labour market reform, and to promote sound macro-economic policies and public finances. Policies to bring growth and sustainable employment along with fiscal consolidation are parts, they say, of a comprehensive strategy “that we want to promote with the involvement of social partners”.
Unions: No to European economic governance that jeopardises wages and social rights. European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) General Secretary John Monks will argue for responsible economic governance offering social guarantees, unlike the model currently on the table. In a statement, Monks says: “European economic governance contains serious omissions. On wages, there is no mention of the rising levels of inequality, the ever widening gap between rich and poor, executives and the rest, or the bankers and their gargantuan appetite for large bonuses; there is an implicit rejection of inflation or comparability in pay bargaining; nor is there recognition of the deterioration of the employment contracts of many workers caused by the growth of precarious work which is discrediting the term 'flexicurity'. For this reason, we have mobilised in several European cities to demand a Pact for More Fairness and More Equality and against Austerity. We believe in peaceful, democratic protest such as that taking place today in Brussels, and also in Berlin and Paris today and on Saturday in London”. The GUE/NGL Group has given its backing to these demonstrations (see EUROPE 10338).
Crafts, SMEs want a stronger Europe. Improving economic governance throughout the EU is crucial for solving the current crisis. Agreeing with Monks, UEAPME (European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) President Loek Hermans will, nevertheless, point out at the summit that “macro-economic policy coordination must include wage developments, since a significant part of imbalances in the eurozone are exactly due to unsustainable wage developments not in line with productivity increases, which have fed into price differences and created competitive imbalances”. Hermans will call on the unions to “rethink their fundamental opposition to finding common solutions to avoid accumulation of new imbalances in the future”. He will also make a call to the Council “for a stronger Europe, not only to manage macro-economic imbalances but also to inspire a vision for the future as outlined in the EU 2020 strategy. This strategy must take into consideration major world events and be able to re-prioritise and re-adapt its policies, such as the one concerning energy, the one concerning neighbourhood, by particular attention to Mediterranean countries to develop once and for all concrete policies for future integration”.
EAPN wonders about the sincerity of European leaders. European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) President Ludo Horremens will convey his concern at the current discussions and decisions taking place on economic governance “happening without adequate public and democratic scrutiny and without a proper assessment of their social impact”. “This separation of economic and social governance is in direct contradiction with the vision expressed in the EUROPE 2020 strategy. It undermines both the European social model and the potential of a sustainable recovery from the crisis as well as the confidence in our democratic procedures.”
AGE wants social dimension restored. AGE-Platform Europe Secretary General Anne-Sophie Parent will call for equal attention to be given to the implementation of the social objectives of the EU 2020 strategy. (G.B./transl.rt)