The heads of state and government are expected to continue the discussions related to the social summit in Gothenburg last November and adopt conclusions on the next stages to follow, particularly with regard to implementation of the European pillar of social rights. A substantial part will focus on education and culture.
Several diplomatic sources said that this European Council marked an important stage following the boost provided last November during the social summit in Gothenburg (see EUROPE 11907, 11906).
The provisional conclusions on 11 December, examined by EUROPE, partly focus on the social dimension of the European Union, as well as education and culture.
The heads of state and government immediately point out that the social dimension and education are national competencies, “but a lot can be done by working together".
With regard to the social dimension, member states underline the necessity of implementing the European pillar of social rights at national levels, whilst always respecting the respective competences and promoting social dialogue “at all levels" particularly with regard to the “New Start for Social Dialogue", a commitment made by the Council and Commission to enhance the social dialogue in June 2016 (see EUROPE 11581).
One European source explained to EUROPE that the Commission had done a lot in this regard but that there was a lot to be done for the other member states, particularly those in the east, such as Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, according to the same source.
The member states support the European Commission’s 2018 programme. It should be pointed out that the Commission intends to present the draft for a European Employment Agency (see EUROPE 11861), a project very much dear to the heart of France. The European Council is committed to pursuing the priorities for tackling gender inequality and pushing forward to strengthen European skills on the basis of the European new skills agenda and the recommendations for the trajectory for enhancing adult skills by way of targeting people that have difficulty in performing daily tasks, such as reading, writing, arithmetic or using daily digital tools.
Education and culture: following the Gothenburg dinner
It should be recalled that during the Gothenburg social summit, the heads of state and government, with the exception of the German Chancellor and the Finnish and Cypriot leaders who were absent, agreed on the challenges relating to education and culture, structured around the eight proposals made by the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk (see EUROPE 11907). The latter indicated at the end of the summit that he wanted to integrate the results from the discussions into the conclusions of the December European Council.
The European Council is therefore calling on member states to increase mobility and exchanges by “substantially” strengthening the Erasmus + programme and the partnerships between the higher education institutions. The objective is to create around 20 European universities, an “ascending" network of universities throughout the European Union that enables students to obtain a diploma by combining several studies in different member states. The member states also call for language training to be strengthened so that young people can speak at least two European languages in addition to their mother tongue. This involves a request expressed in these terms by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, during his speech at the Sorbonne on the future of the European Union (see EUROPE 11870). The member states are also looking at the possibility of strengthening student mobility by way of the European Student Card and mutual recognition between higher education institutions, as well as at a secondary school level.
In this perspective, the Commission is invited to present proposals in spring 2018.
Trade unions concerned. The confederal secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, Esther Lynch, expressed her disappointment to EUROPE, owing to the fact that there had been no appeal for an action plan for the implementation of the social pillar, which could have provided an approach to be followed by the European institutions for the implementation process. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)