On Thursday 21 September, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, attempted to provide assurances to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) by highlighting the need to respond to social aspirations in an effort to reconcile Europe and its citizens.
In reply to the EESC members who found that the speech on the state of the Union by the Commission president backtracked on social questions compared to the previous determination displayed (see EUROPE 11861), Juncker highlighted the question of equal treatment in Europe. Referring to the ongoing work on posted workers and the fight against double standards in foodstuffs and consumer goods, he insisted that “there is no second division in Europe! There are no second-class workers or consumers!”
Juncker also expressed hope that the European institutions will be able to adopt the European pillar on social rights on 17 November during the informal Gothenburg summit (see EUROPE 11775). He warned against the risk of Europe being split into two if the political class failed to take sufficient account of workers’ expectations.
The president of the EESC, Georges Dassis, was happy to accept the outstretched hand of the former prime minister of Luxembourg, who promised to speak on behalf of a more social Europe. Speaking for the workers’ group, Cinzia Del Rio expressed concern that an inter-institutional political agreement would not be concluded on the reform of the rules governing the national social security systems. Gabriele Bischoff said she hoped the efforts made to ensure that Europe had a Triple-A rating in the social field would not be in vain. Luca Jahier meanwhile regretted that the speech on the state of the Union did not mention the word poverty, despite the fact that this phenomenon affects 120 million citizens. He also regretted that there had been no mention of “sustainable development” when the EU should be a driving force at international level in this domain. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)