Brussels, 14/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - At the beginning of its work, on Friday 14 December in Brussels, the European Council kicked off with a very brief presentation by the representatives of European social partners on their common analysis of the key challenges facing European labour markets today, and on the common principles of flexicurity. These themes were looked at by the Tripartite Social summit in Lisbon on 18 October this year (EUROPE 9525). The common principles of flexicurity were adopted during the Employment and Social Policies Council on 5 December in Brussels (EUROPE 9558). The European Council has also signed up to it.
The only people called upon to take the floor, however, were Ernest-Antoine Seillière, BusinessEurope President, and Deputy General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation Maria Helena André. The general secretary of CEEP (European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest), Rainer Plassmann, did not address the meeting although CEEP is the third largest European social partner. CEEP sees this as a blunder, given that the Lisbon Treaty signed on Thursday provides for a strengthened role of the European social partners!
Rainer Plassmann commented: “From CEEP's point of view, it is always very useful to invite European social partners when questions relevant to their competences are discussed at the Council level, as is currently the case with the flexicurity concept. All cross-sector social partners should, however, be recognised around the same table. Whatever subjects are discussed, the fact that Businesseurope is the only one to be invited to speak certainly is not a complete representation of the employers' world”. (G.B.)