In July 2019, when she was standing for the Presidency of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen presented the European Parliament with her programme, ‘A Union That Strives for More’. It referred to the following projects: action plan for the full implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, minimum wage, conditions for platform workers, European unemployment benefit scheme, European child guarantee, directive on the work-life balance (already voted on in June), use of the FSE+ in support of childhood, new legislative acts to tackle discrimination, transparency of pay, gender equality and the introduction of quotas on the boards of administration of companies.
Improving cooperation between public services had been the subject of a decision in 2014. In the autumn, the Commission proposed to extend the network and its funding until 2027; a decision of the Parliament and the Council was adopted against little opposition in November 2020 (see EUROPE 12604/28).
In early 2022, the response to the Covid 19 pandemic reached the top of the agenda. In April, the Commission proposed a regulation instituting the SURE instrument, which was adopted by the Council following month. With an envelope of 100 billion euros, SURE had a clear social objective: to help member states to protect jobs and incomes jeopardised by the pandemic. More than 90 billion euros were paid out to the 19 countries which applied for it. This experience led into a reflection on a permanent instrument: the European Unemployment Benefit Scheme (see EUROPE 12819/19), which has the backing of the European Parliament (see EUROPE 13040/25).
In her state of the union speech of September 2020, President von der Leyen spoke out against ‘social dumping’ and announced legislation on minimum wages, provoking very different reactions from the European Trade Union Confederation and Business Europe. The proposed directive was published the following month. An historic qualified agreement was reached between the Parliament and the Council in June 2022 on a hard-fought compromise (see EUROPE 12973/7). On 4 October, the Council gave its definitive green light (see EUROPE 13035/27). Sweden and Denmark voted against it, while Hungary abstained.
On 4 March 2021, the Commission announced its action plan on the ‘European Pillar of Social Rights’, setting specific objectives for 2030: a job for at least 78% of all people aged between 20 and 64, 60% of adult participation in training activities each year and reducing the number of people threatened by poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million (see EUROPE 12671/2).
On the same day, with a view to tackling gender pay (13%) and pension (30%) gaps, the institution proposed a directive aiming to ensure the equality of pay and implementing mechanisms, by means of transparency. Following considerable internal palaver at the Parliament and Council, the negotiations began, but the third trilogue session on 8 November 2022 bore little fruit, particularly concerning the scope of application of the directive (see EUROPE 13059/28).
The Commission wished to establish a European Child Guarantee, covering access to vital services; it decided not to go with a binding act, but on 24 March 2021, put forward a proposed recommendation to the Council, which the latter adopted three months later (see EUROPE 12740/17).
The third European Social Summit was held in Porto in May 2021 by invitation of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council. Unfortunately, it was at this meeting that the entrenched differences between the countries that do not want a Europeanisation of social policy (principally the Scandinavians) and the rest made itself felt. Poland and Hungary reiterated their objections to the notion of ‘gender equality’. Even so, the European Council agreed to put the European Pillar of Social Rights into practice and to approve the Commission’s action plan (see EUROPE 12716/3).
A regulation was proposed by the Commission on 14 July 2021 to create a ‘Social Climate Fund”, with a budget of more than 72 billion euros for the period 2025-2032 and aiming to help citizens cover the costs of the climate and energy transition. In June 2022, the Council agreed on an upper limit of 59 billion, much to the disappointment of the Parliament (see EUROPE 12982/7). Inter-institutional negotiations began on 13 October (see EUROPE 13042/38).
The rights of workers employed by digital platforms (Uber, etc...) have become a huge social problem. On 9 December 2021, the Commission tabled a ‘proposed directive on improving working conditions in platform work’. The Czech Presidency is currently pushing through the work on a consensus at the Council (see EUROPE 13064/23). The problem boils down to the presumption of salaried status for the workers in question. The extreme lobbying efforts of the platforms against this project has deeply concerned members of the European Parliament and unions. Future trilogues on the subject are likely to be difficult.
Another more recent social proposal was put forward on 22 September: a modification of the directive aiming to protect workers from asbestos. It disappointed MEPs and unions with its lack of ambition, but the Czech Presidency has already put a proposed draft compromise before the Council (see EUROPE 13050/21).
After the laborious work on the 2021-2027 multi-annual financial framework, the Parliament and the Council were able to adopt the FSE+ regulation covering the same period on 24 June 2021. The new fund absorbs the FSE, the youth employment initiative, the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived and the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI), the last two of which were referred to in the first part of this article. It has an envelope of 88 billion euros (compared to 84 for the previous FSE), most of which will be under shared management between the Commission and the member states. In this framework, at least 25% of the resources must go to promote social inclusion, 5% to the fight against child poverty, 3% to the most deprived and 12.5% to young people aged between 15 and 29 and not in work, education or training.
In light of the above, the European Social Fund looks as solid as a rock compared to the twists and turns of the legislative procedure, in which lobbies and national self-centredness thrive.
Renaud Denuit