10 November 2021
On Monday 8 November 2021, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, addressed the Macro-Economic Dialogue at Political Level (MEDPOL). Bringing together, amongst others, Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commission Executive Vice-President for An Economy that Works for People, Christine Lagarde, ECB President, Paschal Donohoe, Eurogroup President and social partners, the meeting focused on exchanging views on the current economic conditions and outlook and the digital transformation in light of the recovery. Read more.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 5 November, SGI Europe, together with the ETUC, held its first event on the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) in Lisbon. The conference was opened by Ana Mendes Godinho (Portuguese Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security) and gathered speakers from SGI Europe (including Valeria Ronzitti, General Secretary, and Luis Natal Marques, President of SGI Portugal) and the ETUC (including Liina Carr, Confederal Secretary). It was an opportunity to exchange views on the CoFoE and the current issues at the top of the EU agenda.
In her keynote address, Minister Godinho highlighted the social questions at the top of the EU agenda in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the twin digital and green transition, demographic change and equal opportunities, rights and access to services. Highlighting that the social dimension must be at the heart of the recovery, she also highlighted the role of social dialogue, both at national and at EU levels, to promote social peace and fairness.
Luis Natal Marques, President of SGI Portugal, highlighted the responsibility of SGIs in this process. He particularly emphasised the social responsibility of SGIs: regardless of their sector of activities, SGIs have a crucial impact on the day-to-day life and the well-being of citizens. Made evident during the pandemic, the need for better linking SGI enterprises and social policies should be better emphasised. It is also the responsibility of social partners to engage on this topic and come up with the correct answers.
SGI Europe General Secretary Valeria Ronzitti emphasised the central role of SGIs at the EU level, both as an advocacy organisation and as a social partner representing essential sectors such as healthcare, education, water, waste or energy. As such, SGI Europe represents those services, which bring closer decision-makers and citizens. This key role explains our commitment to the Conference on the Future of Europe and our contribution to reconnecting EU and citizens.
Echoing concerns raised by Mrs Ronzitti regarding the short timeframe for the CoFoE (which is scheduled to finish by mid-2022), ETUC Confederal Secretary Liina Carr recalled that it is also a unique opportunity to bring Europe to citizens and ensure that the EU is not an abstract concept, and how it affects the daily life of everyone.
Contact: Antonio Astolfi
SGI Europe published on 5 November its written contribution on the European Commission's upcoming proposal for a Council Recommendation on just transition. This proposal will aim at providing guidance to Member States on how to best address the social and labour aspects of the climate transition. It will follow up on the 'Fit for 55' package (from July 2021), specifically the proposal to establish a Social Climate Fund.
In its contribution, SGI Europe calls for the upcoming proposal to proactively tackle all dimensions of a fair and just green transition whilst supporting the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR). Accordingly, it will be crucial to include a dedicated approach putting access to SGIs and essential services (as defined in the EPSR) at the heart of the green transition. In this context, SGI Europe encourages defining and addressing a broad scope of essential services, covering all the services of Principle 20 of the EPSR, and supported by an operational definition of accessibility, affordability and availability.
SGI Europe also calls for better monitoring and evaluating whether reforms and investments undertaken in the National Recovery and Resilience Plans improve access to essential services. SGI Europe finally invents Member States to involve social partners in creating just transition strategies dealing with socio-economic challenges, optimise employment and competitiveness opportunities for workers and enterprises, and contribute to inclusive and fair transitions. SGI Europe recommends, amongst among others, to improve skills and employment intelligence, continue efforts of making VET become the first choice and intensify technical assistance.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 10 November, whilst COP26 is underway in Glasgow, SGI Europe joined a coalition of transport stakeholders (including, amongst others, CER, UITP, Eurocities and UNIFE) and cosigned an open letter on the EU's Urban Mobility Framework.
The letter stresses that urban mobility must undertake significant, substantive and fast changes fast. The threats posed by the climate crisis call for immediate and concerted action at all levels of governance, and the green transition must not aggravate existing inequalities. Public transport and active mobility (walking and cycling) are the most sustainable, affordable, democratic, dependable, and resilient transport modes – and the most solid foundation on which to build.
Signatories have called upon the European Commission to produce an ambitious urban mobility framework (UMF) to foster a sustainable and just mobility transition at the local level. Priority must be given to a radically expanded and more attractive public transport offer and more opportunities for active mobility. This new approach will enable a carbon-neutral society whilst providing enhanced mobility for all, maximising the efficiency of road and rail infrastructure use, and reducing severance, congestion, and air pollution.
The letter follows up on the previous joint letter in mid-September's high-level EU policy recommendations, which called for:
The European Commission intends to publish its Winter Mobility Package in December, including a new proposal of the Urban Mobility Framework and a revision of the Directive on Intelligent transport systems (ITS). SGI Europe has contributed to the public consultation on Urban Mobility, which can be accessed here.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On Monday 8 November 2021, Frances Haugen, Facebook product manager turned whistleblower, addressed the MEPs on the importance of regulating big platforms through the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act that are currently in the pipeline of the IMCO committee.
Haugen started the testimony by stressing out the threats Facebook is currently posing to our society, be it the safety of children or maintaining democracy. She supported the European approach to address these threats with the Digital Services Act, which can set a global standard for tackling disinformation, extremism, polarisation and online violence.
Since Facebook deliberately chooses profits over online safety, she believes that the regulation has to be strong and its enforcement firm. She further expressed her approval of the content-neutral approach to address the systemic risks and harms, of risk assessments obligations and enhanced access to privacy. However, she warned legislators of the danger of creating too many exemptions, especially regarding the transparency obligations that could be circumvented by declaring too much information as a trade secret.
On a positive note, Haugen concluded by emphasising the greatness of the opportunity to create new rules for the online world. Therefore, also SGI Europe is closely following the developments in this regard.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
Join us, stay informed
Subscribe to have all the latest news and developments delivered straight to your inbox.