On Wednesday 20 March, the European social partners, meeting at a Tripartite Social Summit on the eve of the European Summit, called on the EU to put in place a new ‘Industrial Pact for the EU’ with new funding for investment.
Meeting with the Presidents of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Council, Charles Michel, the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council, Alexander de Croo, and Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, Esther Lynch, and Markus Beyrer, Director General of BusinessEurope, agreed on the idea of a major European industrial plan to accompany the European Green Deal, at a joint press briefing.
They also shared a fairly negative view of the situation in the EU, with the loss of industrial jobs, the lack of high-quality jobs and the loss of competitiveness. The EU is becoming increasingly “unattractive” and is falling behind the United States in terms of productivity. And it “will not reverse” the trend at this rate, warned the BusinessEurope representative, who said that no objective set by the EU can be achieved without a strong industrial base.
While the Director General of BusinessEurope agreed there was a need for new investment, he also stressed the need for the EU to have a favourable framework for such investment in order to keep it on European soil.
More specifically, participants discussed the following themes: an industrial strategy complementing the Green Deal and focused on high-quality jobs, a single market that benefits businesses and workers, and labour and skills shortages.
ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch called for “an EU industrial policy focused on quality jobs and based on three pillars: a European investment instrument to guarantee investment in all Member States and regions; strong social conditionality is needed to ensure that every cent of public money is directed towards protecting and creating quality jobs and, in an increasingly unstable world, the EU must have the capacity to anticipate and manage change through a Just Transition Directive”.
“To ensure that the EU decarbonises without de-industrialising, a European industrial pact needs to be developed, with appropriate measures to support SMEs in their transition. It is essential to create the conditions for increased growth and strong industry, supported by high-quality services of general interest”, said Fredrik Persson, President of BusinessEurope.
Representing the sector of services of general interest (which includes areas such as housing, water and energy supply, transport, health, social services, etc.), Pascal Bolo, President of SGI Europe, said in a press release that “to implement the Green Deal, SGIs will need investment, long-term visibility and greater consistency in the European regulatory framework”.
“With the expected end of the Recovery and Resilience Facility in 2026 and the implementation of the new economic governance framework, we are at a critical juncture for the EU. We call for the EU’s 2024-2029 strategic programme to fully recognise this reality and for appropriate instruments to be put in place to prevent a return to austerity policies”.
“SGI Europe calls on the Commission to bring social partners to the table to design the second act of the EU Green Deal. This renewed partnership would ensure that the second act of the EU Green Deal reconciles the industrial strategy, the need to boost the EU competitiveness and the green transition’s objectives”, said Valeria Ronzitti, General Secretary of SGI Europe. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)