3 March 2023
On Thursday 2 March 2023, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, addressed the event by Fondazione Rubes Triva (SGI Europe Associated member), presenting the “Urbino Charter for the wellbeing of workers”.
The Conference brought together Angelo Curcio and Giuseppe Mulazzi, President and Director of the Fondazione Rubes Triva, William Cockburn, Executive Director of EU-OSHA, Giuseppe Casale Director of the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization, Franco Bettoni, President of INAIL (Istituto nazionale per l'assicurazione contro gli infortuni sul lavoro) and Ignacio Doreste, Senior Adviser at the European Trade Unions Confederation.
Highlighting the increasing prominence of health and safety and the role of social partners in addressing the issue, the event was the occasion to open the registration for the “Health and Safety at Work International Festival” organised by the Fondazione Rubes Triva. The festival, which will take place on 21-23 June 2023 in Urbino, Italy, will allow in-depth exchanges and debates on the EU context and how to spread and promote the culture of health and safety in the workplace.
SGI Europe remains firmly committed to the “health and safety at work” issue. With the EU social partners (BusinessEurope, ETUC and SMEUnited), SGI Europe is currently negotiating a review of the 2002 autonomous agreement on telework, with views of putting it forward for adoption as a legally binding agreement implemented via a directive.
You can find more information on the website.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
On Thursday 2 March, the European Parliament Transport Committee (EP TRAN) held a second hearing on the interpretative guidelines for the Public Service Obligation regulation. The hearing aimed to exchange with the Commission on the developments since the first hearing on 17 May 2022.
During the opening statements, representatives from the European Commission reiterated the legal nature of the interpretative guidelines as a guidance to ensure transparency on how decisions are assessed. As Member States enjoy wide liberty in designating public service obligations (PSO), the European Commission only scrutinises manifest errors. The Commission also highlighted that public ownership is not called into question. However, awarding a PSO to a single operator constitutes an exception from the freedom to provide services and needs to be justified.
The Commission clarified some contested elements, such as the principle of “testing the market” and the obligation for competent authorities to check what services the market cannot deliver before designating a PSO. Another clarification was brought on the broadness of showing user demands, which can consider the changes in mobility patterns and the promotion of modal shifts and greener mobility.
In the exchange of views, several MEPs expressed concerns, especially regarding the need for more transparency in the procedure and the impossibility of familiarising themselves with the draft in the making. However, all agreed that high quality, affordable connectivity is the aim to pursue. SGI Europe shares similar concerns regarding the draft (you can read our position paper here) and welcomes the European Parliament’s commitment to improving scrutiny. This hearing was also a welcome opportunity to bring clarifications, especially regarding the market tests in the open access markets, showing the user demand.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
Ahead of the upcoming revision of the 2004 EU directive on Carcinogens, Mutagens and Reprotoxic substances, the European Commission seeks the views of the EU social partners on the possible direction for EU action to improve further the protection of workers from risks related to exposure to hazardous chemicals at work. Revising these limit values may lead to new obligations for employers to introduce a series of measures classified hierarchically: from the elimination and substitution of the substance included in the directive to the use of personal protective equipment and limited exposition.
The Commission intends to revise occupational exposure limits (OEL) and biological limit values (BLV) exposure limits based on new scientific evidence and consultation with stakeholders. This will lead Member States to establish a corresponding national limit value at the EU level or lower. The ambition of the European Commission is now to also include additional chemical components, such as welding fumes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and cobalt, into the scope of the directive.
The first ad-hoc meeting, corresponding to the first stage of the social partners’ consultation (under Article 154 TFEU), will be organised on 16 March 2023, with written contributions expected to be delivered on 31 March. SGI Europe will participate in both phases of the consultation to highlight the position and specificities of providers and employers of services of general interest.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On Thursday 2 March, the Competitiveness Council met to discuss the current priorities for the internal market and the industrial policy. Amongst others, Ministers discussed financial services at a distance, short-term accommodation rental services and, more importantly, the long-term competitiveness and productivity in the single market.
During the press conference closing the day, Ebba Busch, Swedish Minister for Energy, Business and Industry, emphasised the general agreement amongst the Council about the need for balancing long-term competitiveness and sound state aid policy whilst minimising the regulatory burden on businesses. Regarding the recent state aid flexibility, the Member states are currently very divided on the recent proposals for further state aid flexibility. However, they urged the European Commission to limit it in time and scope to avoid impeding the level playing field. There is a broad agreement for impact assessments on revising state aid rules.
Acknowledging that it is essential to have a long-term vision, the European Commission recalled that state aid is a very useful tool for a short-term boost. To that aim, the preparation of the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF) and the green general block exemption regulation is currently well underway. The combination of those instruments will allow for speed and simplicity in granting state support for alleviating the consequences of the crisis through the faster rollout of renewables.
Industrial policy and competitiveness will remain high on the agenda in the coming weeks with, amongst others, the expected publication of the European Commission’s proposals on the Net-Zero Industry Act (14 March), as well as the “Single Market at 30” package and the “Long-term competitiveness strategy” on 16 March.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
On Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 February 2023, the European Parliament and the Swedish Riksdag (in the context of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU) organised the European Parliamentary Week 2023, along the topic “EU Economic Governance from a Parliamentary Perspective”. Bringing together members of parliament from across the EU and from candidate and observer countries, participants exchanged views on economic, budgetary and social matters.
The meeting was started with an opening address by Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, calling for European unity in the face of global challenges. Andrés Norlen, Speaker of the Swedish Riksdag, also reminded participants that, although the war in Ukraine has negatively affected all European economies, the Ukrainian people paid the highest price. Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of an Economy that Works for People, presented the state of play regarding the ongoing revision of the EU’s economic governance and the initiatives linked to the green transition and the implementation of the EU Green Deal.
Split into separate Interparliamentary Committee Meetings, participants continued to exchange views on the ongoing priorities for the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) and the Committee on Budgets (BUDG).
The Conference provided a framework for debate and exchange of information and best practices in implementing the provisions of the Treaty and aimed to strengthen cooperation between national Parliaments and the European Parliament. The Conference also ensured democratic accountability in economic governance and budgetary policy in the EU, without prejudice to the competences of national Parliaments and the European Parliament.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
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