Brussels, 20/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - The first official Tripartite Social Summit for Growth and Employment was held on 20 March, chaired by Costas Simitis and Romano Prodi and attended by Anna Diamantopoulou. It was very productive despite being overshadowed by the war on Iraq. The event is a major step forward in that the European institutions have recognised the role of European social partners (ie, European trade unions and employers) in implementing economic and social reform in Europe. The Summit provided an opportunity for the social partners to give their views on enlargement, market liberalisation, social cohesion and employment measures and note that social dialogue is an essential component of European policy.
After the Summit, the President of the European Council Costas Simitis said that the social partners agreed with the Lisbon policy and recognised it as forming the framework for all EU work. They also agree, he said, that the European social model is a characteristic of the EU and has to be strengthened while adapting to changes without creating a feeling of insecurity and uncertainty in workers. The President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, said the first Tripartite Social Summit would advance the European social agenda, mainly in terms of worker mobility (with great investment in human resources), pensions and transforming the labour market. There were, of course, delays but also successes in the Lisbon Strategy, he said, adding that they had advanced a step today and that social dialogue was very important to the Commission since it ensures the social partners face up to their responsibilities. The Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation, Emilio Gabaglio, spoke of the importance of having a pro-active and coordinated economic policy at European level, investing in environmental-friendly technology, following a monetary policy oriented on employment and growth and a more active employment policy thanks to education and training. Georges Jacobs, President of the European employers' group UNICE, said that war could not be an alibi for failing to deal with the big issues facing us, like low growth in the eurozone.
Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou expressed concern over three issues - systems for protecting worker information, stress at work and the impact of stress on health and employment. The European Employment Strategy is an opportunity for the social partners to be more involved and is an excellent "design of policies" but imperfect in terms of its implementation at national level, she said in her address outlining the three big priorities for the immediate future, namely restructuring, bringing older workers back to the job market (in parallel with reforming pensions) and enlargement. She said the future of social dialogue was just beginning in the candidate countries and social partners and Member States should give additional support to their colleagues in the new Member States.
At the Summit, participants also discussed the setting up of an Employment Task Force, but with little enthusiasm. The trade unions said it was an interesting idea, but the objectives of such a Task Force had to be clear, limited in time and coordinated by the Commission. Employers asked for the suggestions made by such a Task Force to be incorporated in the European Employment Strategy. The Italian social affairs minister, Roberto Moroni (the Italian pm Silvio Berlusconi and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern were not in Brussels because they were addressing their respective parliaments on Iraq) said that formalising the Tripartite Social Summit would not necessarily ensure success, but it could be a decisive forum for meeting the European challenges in social affairs. The Greek Presidency asked for the temporary work dossier to be concluded by June 2003. The Irish social affairs minister Frank Fahey took the opportunity to set out the priorities of the Irish Presidency (the first six months of 2004) namely enlargement (and its impact on the decision-making process), growth, employment, competitiveness, social cohesion and equal opportunities at work.