1 April 2021
On 31 March 2021, SGI Europe submitted its feedback to the European Commission’s Digital Services Act (DSA). With this final feedback consultation to the adopted DSA back in mid-December 2020, the European Commission aims at finalising the regulation to propose new and revised rules to deepen the internal market for digital services.
Targeting particularly online platforms such as social media networks and major marketplaces, the proposed DSA aims at increasing and clarifying a common set of responsibilities to keep users safe from illegal goods, content or services, and to protect their fundamental rights online. Additionally, the DSA should also provide more transparency and greater regulatory oversight over these online platforms.
SGI Europe believes that Europe can set and lead the global standard for a more competitive, non-discriminatory, responsible, and fairer online environment with the DSA. The EU has a unique opportunity to show digital leadership, highlighting the positive aspects of a modern digital single market that makes societies more inclusive, benefits European citizens and companies of all sizes and establishes a level playing field.
At the same time, SGI Europe has also addressed in its final recommendations some challenges that might hamper the development of a functional and fair and competitive digital market, calling upon the Commission to:
You can consult SGI Europe’s position paper on the Digital Services Act here, as well as our Opinion on Digitalisation and Data Policy here.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On 31 March 2021, SGI Europe has finalised its position paper on the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Intended to foster the EU digital development, the DMA regulation has been put forward by the European Commission in December 2020, together with the Digital Services Act (DSA) regulation.
The DMA is an important starting point to ensure fair competition in the digital world and increase consumer choice. The set-up of a swift and flexible intervention mechanism is essential to tackle structural competition concerns raised by large digital platforms acting as gatekeepers which are not fully addressed under the current competition law framework. An ambitious DMA has the potential to lead the way globally in defining better market dynamics in the field of core platform services, such as cloud, operating systems, app stores, search and many other crucial tools.
Providers of services of general interest serve the public good, protect fundamental rights and take Europe forward in serving and acting in the general interest whilst being key players in the digital environment. Global online players benefit significantly from the public infrastructures operated and provided by SGI providers across Europe, as well as from the content they provide. The behaviour of these global online players and the regulatory framework on digital players have a significant impact on the activities of SGI providers.
To ensure that the DMA reaches its objectives, SGI Europe has put forward the following recommendations:
To read the full detailed response, please find SGI Europe’s position on the DMA here.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
In the framework of the European Social Partners joint project on innovation, skills, provision of and access to training, the second thematic seminar took place online on 31 March 2021.
During the seminar, which focused on “Game changing technologies and innovative approaches to the identification of new skills”, BICA (Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association, member of SGI Europe), presented its experience regarding the changing nature of work and the role of social partners in innovative approaches to skills anticipation and forecasting for informing training provision”.
In Bulgaria, BICA is implementing projects together with other social partners on important national priorities including digitalisation targeting more than 700 enterprises and 3600 employees. The joint actions aim to create an algorithm to analyse the needs for specific and in-depth competencies related to the industry and the specific profession.
The joint actions also aim to develop methodological guidelines for maintaining and upgrading the digital skills of workers. The actions focused also on the models of social partnership and collective bargaining in enterprises, trying to adapt them to the technological changes and digitalization of the work, whilst ensuring successful adaptation of the enterprises and employees to the changes.
The ‘Skills, Innovation and Training’ project addresses the current labour market changes stemming from the industry 4.0 revolution, digitalisation, social, demographic and environmental transitions, and global challenges, and intends to improve education and training systems in a way that fosters innovation and enhances re-skilling and up-skilling.
Contact: Ștefan Enică
In the first weeks of April 2021, SGI Europe and the European cross-industry social partners will contribute to a series of hearings organised by the European Commission on future initiatives closely connected to key principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
In this context, SGI Europe is invited to contribute to a hearing on 12 April on the application of EU Competition law on collective bargaining agreements by self-employed. During this hearing, social partners will discuss how to make sure that EU competition law does not prevent the improvement of working conditions of self-employed individuals through collective agreements when needed.
In parallel, DG Competition has launched a public consultation. This initiative is closely connected to the ongoing social partners first stage consultation on working conditions of platform workers, for which SGI Europe is finalizing its official response in view of the deadline on 7 April.
The European Commission also invited SGI Europe to a hearing on 15 April to address two key initiatives related to the EU Skills agenda for Europe. SGI Europe will discuss individual learning accounts, with a focus on exploring the idea of individual learning accounts for people of working age to enable adults to accumulate training entitlements and use them for quality-assured training. During the same meeting, social partners will discuss EU future initiative on micro-credentials to support the quality, transparency, and take-up of micro-credentials across the EU and encourage people to upskill and reskill in a fast and effective way. Both initiatives – on individual learning accounts and micro-credentials - are planned for adoption by the College of Commissioners in the last quarter of 2021.
Finally, EU social partners are invited to a hearing on 16 April to address the consequences of an ageing society, and In particular to comment upon the European Commission green paper on ageing, which intends to launch a broad policy debate on ageing and anticipate to the challenges and opportunities it brings, taking into account the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and UN Decade for Healthy Ageing. SGI Europe’s Social Protection Task Force is presently finalising its response to the related public consultation for which the deadline is set on 21 April 2021.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
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