During the first day of the informal “Employment and Social Policy” ministerial meeting in Tallinn on Wednesday 19 July, the subsidiarity question re-emerged during the exchanges between member states about the challenges relating to the home-work balance.
It should be recalled that the Commission presented an initiative at the end of April to rebalance family responsibilities between women and men (see EUROPE 11775).
This is a very sensitive project that was put on the table of the co-legislators by the previous Commission and ended in failure (see EUROPE 11348).
During the discussions, several member states asked about whether the European Commission had the authority to intervene on the question of the balance between professional and private life. Jevgeni Ossinovski, the Estonian Minister for Health and Employment, who chaired the debates on the subject, concluded rather sombrely that they thought the answer was “yes” and added that he “did not see what the problem was in this respect”. Mr Ossinovski explained that many member states already had legislation in place that emphasised that the level of EU action in the social arena constituted an “essential debate”.
The Estonian minister explained that a second subject was creating much debate: the necessity of striking the right balance between employees and employers. In this context, Mr Ossinovski indicated that they needed to re-evaluate the assistance and leave systems so that they were adapted to all the different situations of the groups targeted by the initiative. He explained that the social partners had differences regarding the details but not on the final objective.
Marianne Thyssen, the Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs took a position on the matter in a personal capacity and said that “mutualisation” constituted a solution, in order to prevent the cost of leave being the exclusive responsibility of businesses.
Business community concerned. On the same day, the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME) expressed its clear opposition to the European Commission project. The organisation believes the initiative could endanger small and medium-sized enterprises’ business and create significant surcharges. UEAPME Secretary General Véronique Willems, argued the case of the SMEs in Tallinn and said it would be more effective if they strengthened childcare facilities so that there really was a choice available to men and women.
In a policy document last June, BusinessEurope appeared to be on the same wavelength and said that the Commission proposal would encourage parents, both men and women “not to work”. Following the example of certain member states, the organisation highlights the need to respect the subsidiarity and proportionality principles. The organisation also believes that they should leave more room for manoeuvre to businesses and put the emphasis on agreements at work.
In a press release published that day, the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services (CEEP) argued that carer’s leave could be damaging to women. The organisation said that the solution could possibly be found in supporting care services and creating greater flexibility for employees. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)