Reading the programmes of the main European political parties for the European elections, the social issue is of particular concern to the formations to the left of the political spectrum.
Whether it is the Party of European Socialists (PES), the European Green Party (EGP), or the Party of the European Left (EL), the social issue remains at the heart of their respective programmes, often in association with environmental issues.
On the other hand, the social dimension is absent from the programme of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), and clearly rejected by the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (ACRE), the latter considering that "after all, the EU is a trading block, not a social security scheme". Based on its Christian Democratic pillar, the European People's Party (EPP) does not provide a clear direction on this issue, but cites some social measures.
Thus, the issue of workers' remuneration is reflected in the three manifestos of the left-wing and centre-left parties. Advocating for a "new European social contract", the Social Democrats demand the introduction of a "decent" European minimum wage. For their Spitzenkandidate, Frans Timmermans, this would be a minimum wage of 60% of the national median wage.
Environmentalists are even more prescriptive in demanding a directive introducing a European minimum wage. For its part, the EL, taking into account the productivity gains of recent years in favour of capital, proposes a reduction in the number of hours worked at European level without "loss of income".
Another important political marker is the European Pillar of Social Rights. This is ignored by the right-wing European parties - although it was carried by two Christian Democrats in the European Commission, Mr Juncker and Mrs Thyssen. On the other hand, the PES and the Greens want to go further to make the 20 principles of the base "binding", in particular to strengthen social protection systems.
On the left, among the transparent programmatic points, we can also note the extension of the Youth Guarantee, this scheme designed to offer each young person under 25 years of age a quality job, continuing training, apprenticeship or internship within four months of losing their job or leaving formal education. On youth, the Greens want to introduce a minimum income and basic income experiences.
In addition, the struggle for decent pensions for the elderly is high on the social democratic and radical left agenda. The EPP also mentions it, but above all sees it as an opportunity that is increasingly structuring European economies.
Partisan specificities are also emerging. The PES is the only party to mention the establishment of a European complementary unemployment insurance scheme to help Member States "facing a massive increase in their unemployment". The PES also proposes a Plan to make housing and transport affordable.
The Greens want to repeat the experiences of universal basic income, as in the Finnish experience. For its part, the EL takes up the proposal of the European Trade Union Confederation (see EUROPE 12203/28) to create a "social protocol" to be annexed to the European treaties. This protocol would follow the model of the Budget Pact, an initially intergovernmental treaty, some of whose provisions have been incorporated into EU law.
On the right, the EPP stresses the importance of strengthening the European Transition Fund to reduce the impact of globalisation on workers and local economies. The issue of territorial disparities, and its European response, cohesion policy, is only mentioned by the EPP and ACRE. These parties are based on a large number of delegations from Central and Eastern European countries that are net beneficiaries of this European policy.
All parties (with the notable exception of ACRE) agree on one point: the fight against the wage gap between men and women and against harassment, in line with the #MeToo movement. The PES cites here the adoption of a European strategy for gender equality.
Inclusive text. As such, the form is revealing of the substance. All left-wing and centre-left parties have adopted inclusive text in their programmes, a practice aimed at combating the sexist grammatical rules inherent in the French language. This approach is not included in the EPP programme at all. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)