Brussels, 04/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - The informal European Council on the future of the European social model, which was announced in London on Friday by Tony Blair (see EUROPE 8982), will aim mainly to debate the sustainability of the European social model and the future of Europe in general, but it will not deal with the current stalemate on the financial perspectives. This was announced on Monday by Françoise Le Bail, the spokesperson to the President of the Commission, José Manuel Barosso. The date for the informal summit, which will be held in the United Kingdom in addition to the two European Councils planned for October and December, has not yet been set, said the UK Presidency on Monday.
The talks of the European leaders during the informal summit will take their basis from a report by the European Commission on "the sustainability of the European social model". This report was commissioned by the Spring European Council in March 2005, by initiative of the Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, who published a document entitled "A Pentathlon for Europe", in which he stressed the five weaknesses of the European economy (including the funding of the European social model; see, amongst others, EUROPE 8908).
The Commission has already started work on this document, which will be finalised by the informal autumn summit, noted Françoise Le Bail, with the assistance of the Directorates General "Economy" and "Employment", President Barosso's group of economic advisers, and also by broad consultations of civil society. "This document will contain no magic formulae, but in the light of the French and Dutch referendums, we must debate the future directions for the EU to take in terms of the social model", said the spokesperson to President Barossa. "This document will be an instrument for economic analysis which will show the problems currently faced by European social models, and the problems they will face in the future. This is a document on the sustainability of the existing social protection systems, an orientation document which will allow the Heads of State and Government to draw their own conclusions at the informal European summit this autumn". She pointed out that in the view of President Barosso, "there is not just one social model in Europe. Europe is diverse. We have to look at the situations in all of the different Member States". This position is shared by Commissioner Vladimir Spidla, who told the conference of the Lisbon Council in Brussels on 20 June (see, amongst others, EUROPE 8974): "I cannot say that the British social model is not part of the European social model. It is a part of it, in the same way as the French social model is a part of it, and the German social model, etc".
John Monks: "Proposal to hold Summit on European social model is step in right direction"
Reacting to the proposal by Tony Blair, John Monks, Secretary-General of the European Trade Unions Confederation (ETUC), said: "we have called upon the European leaders to react as a matter of urgency to recover the confidence of the European citizens, by including the social dimension in European policies and by carrying out a consultation exercise, in which all relevant subjects are tackled freely and frankly". He added: "the proposal to hold an informal European summit is a step in the right direction. We wish to be assured that the European social model is sustainable in the world we live in today. The social partners must play a full role in the debate which has just been initiated".