The social partners (ETUC, BusinessEurope, CEEP, UEAPME) announced, in connection with the Tripartite Social Summit on Tuesday 16 October, the preparation of a joint work programme to implement the European Social Rights Base.
This joint work programme should be presented in January, once the various organisations have received the approval of their members, we are told. The main structuring themes would be the question of digitisation, the skills of workers (often unsuited to market needs) and the risks and psychosocial aspects at work. A draft agreement has already been circulating between the social partners.
On the issue of skills, during the summit, the President of Eurochambres, Christoph Leitl, called for the organisation of an EU Skills Summit to discuss an action plan for the short, medium and long term.
European Labour Authority. In addition, the Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, who was also present at the summit on behalf of the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU, reportedly confirmed during the meeting the Presidency's desire to make progress on the regulation establishing a European Labour Authority.
The Chancellor said he hopes to reach an agreement at the December ministerial meeting. However, according to another source, he simply said that the question of the European Labour Authority would be ‘raised’ at the meeting on 6 December and would not have mentioned a general orientation.
In connection with the Employment and Social Policy Council, the question of the cancellation of the ministerial meeting of 12 October (see EUROPE 12115, 12114) was raised at the summit, in particular by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, himself, who expressed his regret at this decision.
Brexit, the next European budgetary framework, migration. The negotiations on Brexit, the migration issue and the next multi annual financial framework have also occupied the social partners and European institutions.
On the first point, BusinessEurope President Pierre Gattaz and Luca Visentini, Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), both insisted at a press conference that an agreement be reached on the United Kingdom's exit from the EU and expressed their deep fears about the situation of an exit without agreement.
During the summit, the migration issue was also addressed, in particular from the point of view of the lack of skills. Eurochambres has proposed integration grants for SMEs.
With regard to the multi annual financial framework, the social partners urged the co-legislators, in this case the Member States, to reach an agreement before the European elections. Not having an agreement could nip European economic recovery in the bud, said Mr. Visentini. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)