Brussels, 07/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - One week from the Barcelona Summit, the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Emilio Gabaglio, told the press that he was concerned that they were "straying from the Lisbon Process, making of Barcelona a difficult phase, a delicate passage". Mr. Gabaglio sees two reasons for this: 1) the current slowdown in economic activity and EcoFin's inaction regarding employment. "The European Central Bank is not the only one that has to act, governments must also act for better co-operation of economic, budgetary and investment policies", he said; 2) signals sent out by European employers (see EUROPE of 6 March, p.14) and governments by which "Barcelona must liberalise the network industries and set up flexible labour markets". Fearing that some proposals for liberalisation should harm the quality of public services, Gabaglio considers that they should set up "a European-wide framework-directive defining exactly the way public services of a general interest in the can be established in the context of competition, guaranteeing access for employees and citizens in general to quality public services". "We reject the "all market" rationale (…). We must preserve the essential rights which are fundamental to the European social model", he stated. As for the flexibility of the labour markets, Mr. Gabaglio agrees to "respond to the demands for competitiveness, but also that of the workers". Finally, another element that, according to him risks leading them to stray, the "at times contradictory attitude of the Commission", which publishes, on the one hand, documents on the social management of company restructuring or action plans for worker mobility and training, and, on the other, "forgets to or dithers in submitting a proposal for a directive to the Council on temporary work", following the breakdown in talks between the social partners. Mr. Gabaglio also regrets that the "quality of employment" aspect is not highlighted in the Commission's summary report for the Summit.
Answering question, Mr. Gabaglio said: 1) Blair/Berusconi approch to the flexibility of the labour market: "I think the worst possible of this approach, that we do not share. Their reasons are tactical ones to influence the outcome of the Barcelona Summit and their theory by which only supply policies may provide a solution to the problems of employment are a social illusion. Their approach is bad, arguable at the level of economic effectiveness and socially unacceptable"; 2) participation of the social partners as observers in the Convention: "This is significant, social partners representing neither institutions nor governments". He then added that "according to Jean-Luc Dehaene, Convention Vice-Chairman, the social partners' right to speak is implicit, but what we want is for it to be explicit!" (for the trade union's priorities for the Convention, see EUROPE of 28&29 January, p.8); 3) dispute with the United States over steel: ETUC fully supports the European Commission in its action (see EUROPE of 5 March and yesterday, p.6).