Brussels, 15/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - The EU is counting on its European social partners to help integrate migrants and refugees into the labour market.
This is the main thrust of the message delivered on Thursday 15 October, by the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk and the Commissioner for the Euro and Social Dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis, during the tripartite social summit that traditionally precedes the autumn European Council. In addition to the usual subjects, such as deepening Economic and Monetary Union and ways for strengthening the economic recovery, the migratory crisis made it onto the agenda at this summit, which brings together the trade unions and employers' representatives, together with senior officials at the European institutions.
Tusk said that he was “impressed” with this debate, which he believed demonstrated that “this problem, this challenge, can be transformed into an opportunity”. He also said: “Our partners showed an approach towards refugees without any prejudice, without ideological orthodoxies, help-oriented and full of common sense. For me this is a source of cautious optimism”. Tusk stressed, similarly to Dombrovskis at the press conference, that social partners had “a vital role” to play in this challenge of integrating migrants and refugees into the labour market.
Will the trade unions and employers' representatives be able to meet this challenge? According to the Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation, Luca Visentini, the answer is yes, absolutely. He emphasised that migrants could not but bring “added value” to the European economy. The employers, however, were slightly less enthusiastic and called for a more pragmatic approach. The integration of migrants is not just our responsibility, asserted the president of BusinessEurope, Emma Marcegaglia, but she did recognise that they had a certain responsibility. She called for pragmatism and emphasised that given Europe could not take in everyone, it had to prioritise those with professional qualifications. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)