On Friday 17 November, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, insisted on the proposals he made during a speech at the Sorbonne, such as introducing conditions to boost convergence of minimum pay rates among the member states. He was speaking at working meetings ahead of the signing of an inter-institutional proclamation about Europe welfare rights and aims at achieving this convergence in a decade.
Taking advantage of the absence of the Bulgarian pm, the French president took time to spell out his proposals for a social Europe at the third working group on the transition between two jobs. The one that stands out the most was his desire to put social conditions on the award of Structural and Investment Funds in the next multiannual financial framework. This was an idea he mooted at the Sorbonne, where he suggested the ESI funds should be subject to a range of rates to which the member states would commit (see EUROPE 11870).
A government source told a group of journalists that the idea is not to burden the next cohesion period with conditions, but rather to introduce one or two social indicators. The indicators have not been fully decided yet, but the Structural and Investment Funds could be subject in the next multiannual financial period to a ‘corridor’ of minimum wage rates that member states would have to respect or, but we were told this was less likely, reducing the gap between men and women’s pay.
In either case, the ‘heat of the battle’ over the next multiannual financial framework will focus on these indicators. Later in the day, the French president told a group of reporters that he had given himself ten years to achieve this convergence of minimum wage rates – some say the aim is 50% of the median wage.
Asked by this newsletter about this proposal after the summit, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said he hadn’t understood the proposal from the French president in the ‘old meaning’ of the term. Juncker said it was clear that by signing the social rights proclamation, the member states would need to meet their commitments. He gave a thinly veiled warning that the European Semester would make it possible to see whether some member states are going back on their pledges, pointing out that the recommendations are there in order to be respected.
The French idea runs the risk of upsetting the regions, which have been pointing out since the introduction of macroeconomic conditions that it is unfair to use such measures to punish local and regional communities for government policies not taken by themselves (see EUROPE 11871). Some, like Commissioner Corina Creţu, fear that conditionality inflation could make the funds impractical at a time when they need to be drastically simplified (see EUROPE 11904).
The other French proposals. President Macron, who was one of the most proactive heads of stare during the debates, has gone further. He said he wants a summit to be held to discuss social issues each year. This is not a new proposal as Jean-Claude Juncker, when he was prime minister, made the same suggestion twenty years ago at the Social Summit of 1997 (see EUROPE 11906).
Macron said he wanted the European Social Funds (ESF) and the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to be made more effective by introducing more flexibility and giving them more cash. Likewise for the profession Erasmus+ programme.
On the question of education, the French president talked about setting up a European university. A government source says the president would like to see a Bologna-type process for secondary schools to facilitate school exchanges with the long-term aim, we are told, of a European baccalaureate.
For the moment, the support for the French ideas among the other member states is not known. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who provides essential backing for France in the thorny subject of seconded workers, was absent from the summit. A government source explained, however, that the French president met the chancellor in Bonn beforehand to coordinate matters at the summit.
Now that the proclamation of European social rights has been signed, the member states are expected to come up with concrete action. After the various working groups, the president of the European Commission, the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, and the Estonian pm representing the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, Jüri Ratas, formally signed the interinstitutional proclamation, a symbolic procedure for a very tangible set of rights.
Juncker stressed that the rights were not a ‘poetry collection’ and said the European Commission had already presented a series of initiatives, reminding the co-legislators that there were still 12 acts of legislation pending among the 19 that have been unveiled.
In reality, the European treaties redistrict the European Commission’s room for manoeuvre, explained a close parliamentary source, pointing out that the Commission can only promote cooperation and exchange of best practices among member states in the domains of education, health and housing. Salaries, on the other hand, are clearly a national prerogative. The Commission can be creative with the legal bases of the treaties to be able to act or even use the concept of ‘implicit power’ developed by the European Court of Justice to improve the functioning of the Single Market (see EUROPE 11628).
A binding text in the form of a social protocol is not on the cards. Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Marianne Thyssen said at a seminar with reporters the day before that such a protocol would involve tough negotiations that would prevent any rapid initiatives being taken (see EUROPE 11906).
Eight proposals for education and culture. After the proclamation was adopted, the member states held informal talks about education and culture. Tusk said that eight proposals had been brought to the negotiating table by the member states themselves: - increasing exchanges and options for young Europeans to study or follow professional training abroad; - strengthening the European network of universities among the member states; - promoting mutual recognition of secondary school diplomas and developing new training courses for exchanges between European education systems; - promoting multilingualism to ensure that students all speak at least two European languages in addition to their mother tongue; - launching reflection on the future of training; - promoting and extending the European Student Card; looking into an Erasmus for art professionals; and – helping creative companies access financing.
Donald Tusk said there was great support from the member states for all these proposals and he would ensure they were incorporated in the conclusions document for the European Summit of 14 and 15 December. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)