Brussels, 30/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - Labour Day will take place under the sign of unemployment and the shadow of austerity, states the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), and Hannes Swoboda, the president of the S&D Group at the European Parliament. For both players, it is a day of celebration that Europeans do not really feel like celebrating under the present circumstances.
A new record rate of unemployment (see article above) and the continuing austerity policies are, together, a combination that is far from going down well in the EU. Swoboda says: “Europe has lost its social vision by concentrating narrowly on enforcing fiscal discipline”, a press release on Tuesday 30 April states. ETUC feels the same and Bernadette Segol, its general secretary, will have an opportunity to affirm this directly at the European Commission, on Thursday 2 May, during her speech before the College of Commissioners.
Segol and Swoboda not only share the same idea regarding the roots of the current difficulties but also propose similar solutions to address the situation. They believe that, ultimately, everything depends on what happens when it is necessary to determine the aspect and the content of the social dimension of the future Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) during the European Summit on 27 and 28 June. “Shifting Europe towards a social union is the only way to avoid people turning their backs on the European project”, Swoboda said. (JK/transl.jl)