18 March 2022
On Tuesday 15 March, SGI Europe, together with a coalition of 270+ civil society organisations, think tanks, trade unions and employers supported by academics, issued a joint manifesto calling for a fundamental reform of the EU’s fiscal rules.
Upon joining the coalition, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, said: “Both the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine urge the EU to accelerate and consolidate the twin transition and to strengthen our strategic autonomy. To face this new post-pandemic and geopolitical reality, we must reform the existing fiscal rules and rethink our economic policy toolkit to enable growth-enhancing productive investments. A stronger Europe is only possible if we manage to outgrow the current crises, reinforce social cohesion and our sense of unity and solidarity.”
You can consult the manifesto of the coalition here (also available in: EN - FR - DE - ES - PL - GR).
Contact: Antonio Astolfi
The European Commission and the European Parliament co-hosted a conference on the right to disconnect and telework on 15 March 2022. This event was part of the series of follow-up actions of the European Commission in response to the European Parliament’s Resolution on the right to disconnect. The aim of this conference was to provide a forum to present the perspectives of EU institutions, Member States, social partners and relevant stakeholders on this important issue.
The event allowed to look into the trends and evolution of telework and the right to disconnect in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the related opportunities and challenges as well as the various policy responses from different Member States. SGI Europe participated in this event in a panel dedicated to the role of social partners’ agreements and social dialogue. SGI Europe highlighted on this occasion the importance of the autonomous agreement on telework signed in 2002 and the evolutions since its implementation 20 years ago. The panel also was the opportunity to present a forward-looking perspective on the implementation of the digitalisation agreement of 2020 which provides a framework for social partners at the national level to tackle the challenges linked to digitalisation including work organisation and the modalities of connecting and disconnecting.
The topics of the conference are closely linked to the ongoing negotiations of the EU social partners for their next work programme 2022-2024 which could tackle telework and the issue of disconnection. The Social Partners have a final day for these negotiations on 18 March, and are looking forward to presenting this result to the EU institutions once finalised.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 17 March, the cross-industry European Social Partners were invited to meet Commissioners for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, to discuss the support to people fleeing the war in Ukraine and on the planned Skills and Talent Package.
SGI Europe welcomed EU’s fast and determined answer for granting a clear legal status which allows immediate protection to the refugees, and further social integration, and the Cohesion's Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE) proposal which offers concrete tools to the Member States for reinforcing their welcoming capacities.
SGI Europe mentioned that its members started to put in place dedicated actions for fostering refugees’ integration, providing housing, legal assistance, and accompanying coaching including skills recognition. SGI Europe underlined that the context of geopolitical instability which could be repeated in other neighbouring countries should drive the EU to advance towards a common European migration and asylum policy.
The Skills and Talent Package will be published at the end of April and will include the proposals of a Talent Pool and Talent Partnerships, which aims to increase the EU’s attractiveness in terms of skills and talent, and to make sure that third-country workers come to the EU legally. Details on the two initiatives will be set-out in the chapeau communication accompanying the Package.
Contact: Stefan Enica
On Tuesday 15 March, Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy, exchanged views with the ITRE Committee (European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy) of the European Parliament on the RePowerEU communication published on 8 March 2022. MEPs held an extensive exchange of views with Mrs Simson, addressing the measures proposed to keep energy prices under control, to ensure strategic gas storage levels are maximised ahead of next winter and to reduce in the short and medium term the EU's dependence on Russian oil and gas and enhance energy security.
Mechthild Wörsdörfer, European Commission’s Deputy-Director General for Energy, also presented the Hydrogen and Decarbonised Gas Package published on 15 December 2021, arguing that establishing a new market for hydrogen is part of the solution to reduce EU’s dependence in Russian gas.
SGI Europe will continue to monitor developments on those 2 initiatives, which will be at the heart of shaping the future of the EU energy market.
Contact: Ariel Carpanini
On Thursday 17 and Friday 18 March, the 8th Cohesion Forum started, a conference for stakeholders to reflect on the important role that cohesion can play in making EU more resilient, modern (green and digital) and inclusive.
The Forum was kicked off by welcome speeches of Elisa Ferreira, European Commissioner for Cohesion and reforms, and Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights. Commissioner Ferreira introduced a newly launched Kohesio platform, which offers information on cohesion projects in Member States and makes the implementation of cohesion policy even more transparent. Commissioner Schmit emphasised the role of cohesion policy also in the light of the current war in Ukraine, as the resources will help meet the needs of refugees.
Ensuing panels gathered high-level speakers addressing the role of cohesion in the recovery. Christa Schweng, President of the European Economic and Social Committee, pointed out that cohesion policies offer a solid basis to answer to the shocks that we have been experiencing for 2 years with the pandemic and the fallouts of the war in Ukraine. Importantly, she highlighted the role of social partners, who are the ones that know the situation on the ground and will eventually provide reskilling and inclusion of the people in the labour market. Apostolos Tzitzikostas, President of the European Committee of the Regions, pointed out that the funding programmes, such as the Common Agricultural Policy, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and Cohesion funds must complement each other. Nadia Calvino, Spanish deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, pointed out that the crises (pandemic and the war in Ukraine) did not affect all parts of Europe evenly, proposing similar asymmetrical responses to the different challenges.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
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