Brussels, 19/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 April, a delegation from the European Parliament's employment and social affairs committee travelled to Warsaw. Headed by Pervenche Berès (S&D, France), this visit was carried out in the context of the future Polish Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, which begins its work on 1st July 2011. The objective of the parliamentary delegation was to discuss the priorities of the future Presidency with the ministers responsible for these fields, in addition to members of the Sejm, Senate and social partners.
The minister for labour and social policy, Rados³aw Mleczko, underlined the importance of promoting family-friendly policies and said that he would like to identify a solution to the issue of maternity leave. Pension reform, workers' mobility and negotiations with European social partners on the difficult working time dossier will also be Polish Presidency priority subjects in the social arena.
The minister for regional development, El¿bieta Bieñkowska, underlined the importance of the role of structural funds as an instrument for economic growth and implementing the EU 2020 strategy. She highlighted the positive contribution made by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) to Poland. The minister also emphasised the importance of the next framework for structural funds and called for an autonomous ESF.
Pervenche Berès highlighted the role of the ESF as an instrument for developing appropriate skill-sets for finding a job and for promoting effective administrative structures. She affirmed that Poland had already done a lot in this field but called for the ties between the ESF and the goals for fighting social exclusion and poverty contained within the EU2020 strategy. The president of the parliamentary committee urged the Polish Presidency to show its solidarity with the Mediterranean countries currently involved in the transition towards democracy. She explained that “this is not only an issue of money but of capacity building, such as social dialogue”.
In addition to Berès, the delegation also consisted of Casba Öry (EPP, Hungary), Alejandro Cercas (S&D, Spain), Gabriele Zimmer (GUE/NGL, Germany), Raffaele Baldassarre (EPP, Italy) and Dantua Jaziowecka (EPP, Poland). (G.B./transl.fl)