Bad Munder, 10/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - The Conference on the "Role of Trade Unions in the Enlargement Process", held in Bad Munder last week on the initiative of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), strengthened the role of go-between of trade unionist representatives of the European Union and countries candidates for accession in informing workers what is happening in Brussels regarding enlargement policy. The Conference turned to the question of how to best put across the acquis communautair and then put it into effect, notably in the social, economic and political sectors. "An acquis that has to be explained and to do so, what is important is that trade unions play an active pioneering role in demonstrating the positive effects of enlargement both for countries members of the Union and candidate countries," stressed Maria-Helena André, Confederal Secretary of ETUC, at the end of the talks. During these three days of intensive work, participants placed special emphasis on the need for a social dialogue between strong social partners and attempted in different ways to calm fears regarding the free movement of persons and the consequences on the respective labour markets that migratory flows could have. Here, Austrian and Slovak trade unionists set out their countries' experiences regarding cross-border labour. Renate Langeswiesche (ETUI) said that "ETUC will continue to be active at the level of employment, of the future development of the EU acquis, and regarding social law and that it would continue to fight for the Charter of Fundamental Rights to be enshrined in the Treaties, with its social dimension, in the context of the EU's enlargement".
When speaking before the Conference (see EUROPE of 6 October, p.15), ETUC General Secretary Emilio Gabaglio again drew attention to the fact that the "Union is not only a market, a single currency. It is a social and political vision, it is a European social model. That is why the social acquis is at the centre of negotiations, and the social dialogue and the role of the social partners must be highlighted".
Regarding the free movement of workers, Emilio Gabaglio recalled ETUC's clear stance (which tallies with that of Commissioner Gunter Verheugen, see EUROPE of 7 October, p.14), i.e., "it has not to be over-played and demagogic engagements must be rejected. This problem first needs broaching with the instruments, tools and experiences at our disposal". The General Secretary said that "ETUC has already achieved its enlargement to all the Eastern candidate countries, as well as the countries of the Mediterranean, like Turkey, Cyprus and Malta", an enlargement "that now needs deepening".
Quantified assessment of volume of migratory flows from the East
During this debate, Elmar Honekopp (Institutional and Labour Market Research Institute, IAB) considered that, on the basis of recent surveys, one should not expect major migratory flows. She then quoted the following figures: some 125,000 people from the candidate countries should emigrate to Germany over the first year of membership, and more or less 200,000 to other EU countries. These flows should drop over the following years to reach zero within 20 to 30 years. The essential factors that may influence migratory flows and also cross-border work, are the differences in wages between the country of origin and destination, geographic distance, the situation on the labour market and its evolution. For the trade union representatives, "what is decisive in the decision to leave one's country, is wage comparison". But, the trade unionists of applicant countries made a point of stipulating that "what our workers are especially seeking is short-term work to improve their financial situation and then return home, to their country of origin". For the General Secretary of the European Textiles and Clothing Trade Union Federation, Patrick Itschert, "free movement will not add many difficulties to those we already have. In certain regions of the Union (like Courtraisis in Belgium, or Southern Italy), there are shortages of skilled labour". He raised two problems: social dumping and the stripping away of trade union and social rights, both in the EU and in applicant countries. Finally, having presented EC action regarding the social acquis, Karl-Johan Lonnroth, Director at the European Commission's employment DG, declared: "Europe must have faith, must believe that the path chosen is the right one; Europe needs its leaders to have the courage to reform our institutions; Europe needs love: we need to love our values, those of equal opportunities and the fight against exclusion that characterize our continent. We must back each other to maintain these values in a changing world".