9 June 2023
On 23 June 2023, on the UN Day of Public Services, 9:30-12:30, SGI Europe will hold an event on the 30 years of the Single Market. The event will take place at the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels.
On that occasion, SGI Europe will highlight and reflect on the place of SGIs and public services in the EU social market economy. The event will explore the different sides of the EU Single Market, the tension and reconciliation between its market and social components, its objectives, achievements, evolution and a reflection on its future, focusing on the role and place of SGIs and public services.
Confirmed speakers include, amongst others, Oliver Röpke, President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Nathalie Berger, Director of the European Commission’s DG Reform, Kim Jorgensen, Director General and EIB Permanent Representative in Brussels and Helena Vines Fiestas, chair of Platform on Sustainable Finance.
You can find more information on the following page and register here.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
The European Commission published a communication on a comprehensive approach to mental health on 7 June. With this proposal, the European Commission intends to bring up and develop a new transversal approach to mental health issues. This non-legislative tool is a means to shape policy and calls for bringing forward “a new strategic approach to put mental health on par with physical health”.
While the communication is on transversal issues, it also emphasises workplace challenges, including employers' role in ensuring workers' safety and health (as defined in the OSH legislation). The communication presents psychosocial risks and work-related stress among the most challenging issues in occupational safety and health and underlines health and social care workers as the most at-risk of being exposed to work-related psychosocial risks in the post-pandemic context.
In its flagship initiative 13, the European Commission announces that it will conduct a peer review of legislative and enforcement approaches to address psychosocial risks at work in Member States with a view, and subject to its outcomes and the inputs of social partners, to present an EU-level initiative on the psychosocial risks in the medium term. The Commission also announces two future EU OSHA campaigns “Safe and Healthy Work in Digital Age” (2023-2025, with a focus on mental health at work) and “Psychosocial Risks and Mental Health at Work” (2026-2028, with a focus on new and overlooked occupational sectors.
The communication also recognises the ongoing negotiations of the EU cross-industry social partners on a new agreement on teleworking and a right to disconnect. The European Commission rightfully states the critical role of social dialogue in addressing mental health challenges in the workplace.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 6 June, SGI Europe attended the GreenEnerDeal one-day conference event, which addressed the current challenges and opportunities for EU stakeholders, industries and enterprises on how to ensure the successful implementation of the EU Green Deal.
The event was opened by Frans Timmermans, European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for the EU Green Deal, and focused on ensuring the security of supply, socio-economic stability and preserving the climate ambition. EVP Timmermans highlighted that ongoing conflicts and raw material shortages would not stop the climate crisis, which will only worsen.
Electricity de France (EDF), member of SGI Europe, joined the panel discussion on the revision of the Electricity Market Design with Mechthild Wörsdörfer (Deputy Director-General of DG Energy) and discussed the roll-out of renewables and the protection of consumers. The question on the role of consumers in the transition highlighted that markets must respond to the needs of all consumers, from industries to single end-users and vulnerable consumer groups.
SGI Europe calls for prioritising reducing consumption before developing and boosting low-carbon energy. To ensure this, electricity will have a key role to play alongside low-carbon technologies, renewable and decarbonised gases, and a new hydrogen market.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On 6 June 2023, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, was invited to address the Democracy Alive Summit organised by the European Mouvement International (EMI). A year before the EU elections in 2024, the Democracy Alive Summit gathered political leaders, policymakers, academics, social partners, NGOs, and civil society organisations to discuss the state of democracy in Europe. Vera Jourova, European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency, gave a keynote speech during the Summit, keynote on defending democracy in a time of insecurity.
It presented an opportunity to exchange on the need for safeguarding EU values, ensuring a safer democratic future for the EU, and addressing challenges that threaten to undermine peace in the EU, such as the rise of authoritarianism, far-right leaders and the erosion of shared democratic values in many countries.
As an EU social partner, SGI Europe contributes to the vitality of the EU democratic ecosystem, as social dialogue is one of its cornerstones. Mrs Ronzitti was invited to address the panel on “Enemy at the Gates: Building an Alliance to defend democracy and freedom”, joining MEP Alin Mituța (RO, Renew), MEP Domenec Ruiz Devesa (ES, S&), Elias Dray (Vice-President, European Youth Forum) and Evelyne Paradis (Director, ILGA-Europe). The panel was the opportunity to come back on the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe, and the proposals to strengthen European democracy by, for example, allowing better participation of citizens through Citizens’ Panels to feed the decision-making processes.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
On Thursday 1 June, the Commission started a public consultation on a delegated act supplementing the Resilience of critical entities Directive (“CER Directive”). This delegated act establishes a list of essential services in the sectors and subsectors set out in the CER Directive that this act is supplementing. The consultation is running until 29 June 2023.
The CER Directive provides for obligations on Member States to carry out risk assessments and identify critical entities that provide essential services. In this context, the Commission is empowered to adopt a delegated act by 17 November 2023 to supplement the Directive by establishing a list of essential services in the sectors and subsectors set out in the Annex to the Directive. Competent authorities will use this non-exhaustive list to conduct risk assessments and identify critical entities pursuant to the Directive. Member states can amend it at the national level.
The draft text covers sectors such as energy, transport, banking, health, drinking water, wastewater, digital infrastructure, and public administration. SGI Europe covers almost all sectors covered in the draft and will provide feedback to the consultation.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
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