Brussels, 01/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Stating on two occasions that the European social model is far from dead, the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, hoped to answer not only the comments made by ECB President Mario Draghi, who had stated the contrary (see EUROPE 10564), but also the concerns that some have expressed regarding the visibility of a model that is harmed by the budgetary pact, due to be signed by 25 member states on Friday. The social model, however, would require some tweaking, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said for his part. Adjustments that need to be made for the EU relate to a global market that is more than ever dotted with competitors. These statements were made after the tripartite social summit that took place just a few hours before the start of the European Council on Thursday 1 March, at the very time when the latest data of the European statistical office (Eurostat) were published, noting a record rate of unemployment in the eurozone. With a 10.7% rate during January (10.1% for the EU27), in just one month 185,000 people have joined the some 16 million already unemployed.
“The situation is dramatic”, said Barroso, referring to these results. He went on to say that there had not been such a high level since 2000, adding that this is additional evidence of the fact that “smart fiscal consolidation” must be applied. Marrying job creation with growth, budgetary improvements and greater competitiveness, that is what a “smart” approach would be and what the focus of the European Council will be, explained Barroso and Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who will also be present at the summit with the social partners (ETUC, BusinessEurope, UEAPME and CEEP).
Also, more than ever, growth and employment are at the heart of discussions, said the general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Bernadette Ségol, and Barroso, although ETUC says many concerns remain regarding the social implications of austerity policies conducted to date by most member states. Discussions, reflected in the press conference, on whether the European social model would or would not survive, did not however come up with a sufficiently concise and clear definition of what this model, proper to the EU, corresponds to. One of its ingredients, the only one to be cited by the speakers, was that of social dialogue. Barroso said: “Social dialogue remains a core element of the European social model”, while Van Rompuy said: “Today, more than ever, social dialogue has an important role to play in our common efforts to restore growth and jobs”.
Regarding this last objective, the Council president underlined the key role of national employment programmes which come within the framework of the national reform programmes that member states are to submit to the Commission by 13 April, with an indication of how they will attain targets given, including in respect of job creation and poverty reduction. The specific situation of four states (Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Romania), which do not have to produce such reports, was not mentioned (see EUROPE 10561).
While, during the press conference, no specific national situation was mentioned, austerity measures and the way these are applied and decided in Greece were criticised by Ségol during discussions at the social summit, according to a well-informed source. Such criticism was particularly aimed at the weakened legal framework of collective negotiations and the diminishing role of social partners. Barroso answered that no vote was to be envisaged as in-depth structural reforms were necessary.
The social partners presented their programme for the years 2012-2014, indicating youth employment as a top priority. “We will focus on the link between education, young people's expectations and labour market needs, taking into account young people's transition into the labour market”, the programme states. A joint comparative analysis of European employment markets will be carried out in the near future, in order to “understand the reasons why some national policies have so far been able to overcome the crisis in a much more effective way than others”. Among the other priorities of the programme there are questions on improving equality between men and women on the job market, worker mobility, ways for setting in place tools for social dialogue in industry mainly by improving the role of social partners, and on economic and social governance within the EU. During the summit, BusinessEurope presented a report on the prospects of youth employment, while CEEMET (Council of European Employers of the Metal, Engineering and Technology-Based Industries) presented a study on flexible employment schemes. (JK/transl.jl)