On Monday 19 February, during a Macro-Economic Dialogue with Social Partners, the Vice President of the European Commission responsible for the euro and Social Dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis, highlighted the need to continue structural reforms, together with the social partners, in order to guarantee greater "social justice" and a higher level of productivity.
The latter considers that the current rate of economic growth in the European Union provides an opportunity for completing the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and building, "robust economic structures" that support "real convergence" towards "sustainable growth".
During this Dialogue, all the different speakers agreed on the economic recovery but were concerned about several negative signals that had been emitted, such as the lack of progress in wages and the low-level of public investment. These speakers included the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services (CEEP). Several speakers also highlighted the necessity of modernising the education systems and adapting European workers' skills more appropriately to the requirements of the labour market, particularly skills among young people, as pointed out by BusinessEurope, UEAPME and the future Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
This attitude contrasts, however, with that of the future Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU. According to the latter, the priorities should be, above all, reducing the levels of indebtedness, the fight against artificial price increases and tackling non-performing loans. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)