10 November 2023
On Monday 20 November 2023, SGI Europe will organise an event called “The Green Deal as the EU Growth Strategy: Contributions and expectations for SGIs at the heart of the transition”. The event will be held at the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels. It will address the contribution and challenges for providers of SGIs to the green transition, as well as the central topic of skills (in the context of the EU Year of Skills).
Confirmed speakers will include MEP Dragoș Pîslaru, chair of the Employment committee of the European Parliament, Andriana Sukova, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s DG Employment and Social Affairs, Jaime Iglesias Sánchez-Cervera, Head of Unit for International Relation at the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Economy, Milo Fiasconaro, Executive Director at AquaPublica, and Sorcha Edwards, Secretary General at Housing Europe.
You can find more information on our website and register to attend on the following form.
On 6 November 2023, SGI Europe General Secretary Valeria Ronzitti addressed the Social Europe Conference, organised in Berlin by Hubertus Heil, German Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. This conference gathered members of the European Parliament, Ministers of Social Affairs from across Europe, EU social partners, and the European Commission.
Together with representatives of the EU social partners, Valeria Ronzitti discussed the demands from SGI Europe to shape a social Europe ahead of the 2024 EU elections. Amongst others, SGI Europe calls for putting principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights at the centre of the campaign for a Social Europe, with access to affordable, accessible, and high-quality SGIs as an essential pre-condition for the EU’s competitiveness.
Ms Ronzitti also addressed the review of the economic governance framework, asking for an explicit inclusion of social investment with high economic returns in the new economic governance framework. Finally, EU social partners, including SGI Europe, further recalled the need for further capacity-building and strong bipartite social dialogue at the national level. On top of that, SGI Europe calls for capacity-building initiatives at the European level to re-create the conditions for an effective social dialogue.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
On 8 November, VÖWG (the Austrian section of SGI Europe) hosted the meeting of SGI Europe’s Transport task force, organised under the initiative by Monika Unterholzner, chair of the Task Force. The main topic of this meeting was the climate targets and the strategic steps towards green freight transportation, focusing on the Austrian situation.
During the Transport Task Force meeting, guest speakers presented the Austrian and Viennese climate and mobility policies and the strategic plans to reach climate neutrality by 2040. Mr. Marcel Simoner (from Urban Innovation Vienna) highlighted the ambition to provide a better quality of living to citizens through affordable living, green public spaces, access to public drinking water and access to information. These calls were also supported by Alexander Scholz, policy advisor at the City of Vienna, who updated members on the strategy plans of Vienna to become a smarter city. He underlined that a smart city strategy should move the focus away from technology and address the challenges of living and working in a metropole.
Martin Schwemmberger, policy advisor for the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, gave an overview of Austria's green mobility strategy. He explained the shift from road to rail in the freight business to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and better use public transport based on the existing infrastructures. Lastly, members welcomed the presentation by Annika Kroon, Head of Unit for Maritime Transport at DG MOVE, who presented the Greening Freight Package.
Members also joined several on-site visits, starting with a tour at Wiener Lokalbahnen (WLB) and a welcome by Thomas Gruber, newly-elected CEO of WLB (for a mandate beginning in January 2024), to experience the new tram systems. Another visit occurred at Wien Holding, addressing their business models and projects in sustainable services of general interest in Vienna in sectors such as culture, real estate, logistics and media.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On Wednesday 8 November 2023, SGI Europe addressed the meeting of the Macro-Economic Dialogue at the Political Level (MEDPOL). The meeting brought together, amongst others, Christine Lagarde (ECB President), Nadia Calviño (Spanish Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation), Nicolas Schmit (European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights), Paschal Donohoe (Eurogroup President), and social partners, with a focus on the reforms and investments to address labour shortages and skills mismatches.
On this occasion, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, highlighted that one of the most significant bottlenecks in adult learning remains the fragmentation and lack of a coherent governance framework, and that many systems still exist without evidence of mechanisms for coordination or partnership between training providers and social partners.
She added that education and training reforms and investments should become a priority area for all Member States and that SGI Europe strongly calls for such reforms and investments never to be threatened. Ms Ronzitti concluded by stating that an economic governance framework adapted to the heterogeneity of Member States’ fiscal positions, public debt challenges and other vulnerabilities is crucial to responding to our employment objectives by integrating and promoting social investments and reforms and achieving a sustainable path toward fair growth and competitiveness.”
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 6 November 2023, the European Commission sent to the Member States for consultation a draft proposal to partially adjust the phase-out schedule of the provision of the State Aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework. Aimed at providing an adequate response to the increase in energy prices due to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF) was previously amended and prolonged on 9 March 2023 to foster support measures in sectors which are key for the transition to a net-zero economy, in line with the Green Deal Industrial Plan.
As the latest Commission’s economic forecast shows that the EU economy continues to grow and that energy prices seem to have been stabilised, the Commission is proposing a limited prolongation of 3 months of the TCTF in order to enable Member States to continue to grant a limited amount of aid (section 2.1 of the Framework) and aid to compensate for high energy prices (section 2.4 of the Framework), until 31 March 2024. Member States would be allowed to extend, where needed, their support to the companies which are still affected by the crisis.
However, the Commission's proposal does not affect the remaining provisions of the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework: the other crisis-related section of the Framework (liquidity support, subsidised loans and measures aimed at supporting electricity demand reduction) will not be extended beyond 31 December 2023. The section aimed at accelerating the green transition and reducing fuel dependencies is not affected by the draft and will remain available based on the current Framework until 31 December 2025.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
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