21 October 2022
SGI Europe welcomes the steps undertaken on Thursday by EU Leaders, during the first day of the European Council, putting on equal footing demand reduction, security of supply, mitigation of prices and protection of the Single Market.
Temporary solutions remain urgently needed to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the economy. Setting in motion the joint purchasing of gas, fast-tracking the simplification of permitting procedures, boosting energy savings and agreeing on energy solidarity mechanisms to get through the winter must kick-start an ambitious EU socio-economic response supporting the packages already approved in some Member States.
Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, commented: “With its careful step-by-step balanced approach, the EU institutions are, once again, bringing to light the EU added value in the face of the recession on our doorstep, with dramatic consequences on the EU way of life”.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On Wednesday 19 October 2022, Pascal Bolo, SGI Europe President, and Valeria Ronzitti, General Secretary, addressed the Tripartite Social Summit in the presence of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Petr Fiala, Czech Prime Minister. The main theme for discussion was “Tackling the energy crisis and the cost of living crisis: How to protect the economy, businesses and workers”.
Bringing concrete examples from its members in Germany, Italy and France, SGI Europe highlighted the key priorities for SGI employers and providers to mitigate the social and economic costs of the current crisis, as well as the urgent needs of services of general interest in that context.
In his introductory remarks, Pascal Bolo, President, highlighted that enterprises of SGIs are facing extreme pressures threatening their ability to fulfil their missions to the public. He stressed that SGI Europe members are caught between multiple fires with rising energy and commodity prices, labour shortages, and the increasing difficulty for many citizens and companies to pay their bills. SGI Europe calls for the Temporary Crisis Framework for state aid to be extended beyond 2022, and for as long as necessary, as well as to be broadened to support all enterprises. Pascal Bolo finally called EU leaders not to compromise the ambitions of the EU Green Deal, which must remain the European long-term growth strategy.
In the moderated discussion, Valeria Ronzitti, General Secretary, further highlighted that the magnitude of the crisis we are experiencing today clearly shows the costs of past non-action. In the face of the looming climate crisis, SGI Europe considers that the vision and ambitions of the EU Green Deal remain the best way forward. As no one should be left behind, we welcome the initiatives already undertaken by several Member States to keep economic actors and citizens afloat. The EU cannot afford to repeat past mistakes, which led to underinvestment and economic and social regress in the last decade.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On Tuesday 18 October 2022, the European Commission published its Work Programme for 2023 (CWP 2023), titled “A Union standing firm and united”, and the five annexes detailing the concrete proposals.
The CWP 2023 is heavily influenced by the ongoing energy prices crisis, the Russian war against Ukraine, and the proposals stemming from the Conference on the Future of Europe. It is presented along the six headline ambitions of the von der Leyen Commission: The European Green Deal, A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, An Economy that Works for People, A Stronger Europe in the World, Promoting our European Way of Life and A New Push for European Democracy.
In the different annexes, the European Commission is specifically proposing to put forward 43 new policy initiatives, 8 initiatives for regulatory simplification (through processes such as REFIT revisions, evaluations and fitness checks), as well as 1 proposal for withdrawal and 1 proposal for repeal. It also highlights that there are currently 116 proposals which are currently pending approval between the European Parliament and the European Council.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
On 18 October, SGI Europe attended the technical working group of the ESF+ Committee, where several topics were discussed, including the National Competence Centers for Social Innovation, and the communication activities under ESF+.
European Commission’s Directorate General for Employment, Social affairs, and Inclusion announced the relaunch of the communities of practices, including one community to exchange practices regarding the use of the ESF+ for the integration of refugees. Further, the upcoming communication activities will intend to create synergies between the ESF+ and the 2023 European Year of Skills, by promoting good practices and relevant projects.
SGI Europe believes that the ESF+, as the key European financial instrument dedicated to supporting the up- and re-skilling of workers, plays an essential role in facilitating the success of the green and digital transitions, and tackling skills mismatches and labour shortages. A meaningful cooperation between the Member States and national social partners in the programming and implementation of the ESF+ remains essential for its success.
Contact: Stefan Enica
On 18 October, the European Commission presented an additional proposal – Energy Emergency Regulation – to address high energy prices and ensure security of supply in Europe. Alongside the new regulation, the European Commission has also published its new State of the Energy Union report 2022, highlighting the current challenges from the last 12 months. The report provides a good overview of the state of play in the energy market and the EU policies put in place to respond to the energy crisis.
This new Energy Emergency Regulation is another tool proposed to complement the agreed measures to reduce electricity demand and capture windfall profits to improve redistribution to citizens and industry. The new plan includes proposals to ensure that 15% of the EU gas storage will be filled through joint purchase by March 2023 as well as a solidarity mechanism for all EU countries to share gas in times of need.
Additionally, the EU leaders approved, at the and of the first day of the European Council meeting of 20 and 21 October, a temporary EU framework to cap the price of gas in the electricity, including a cost and benefit analysis, without modifying the merit order, while preventing increasing gas consumption, addressing the financing and distributional impact and its impact on flows beyond the EU’s border.
SGI Europe welcomes in general the new proposal. It will serve as an essential added toolbox to tackle the high energy prices in Europe on a temporary basis and in a unified manner. In particular, SGI Europe assesses positively that the European Commission presented a set of measures that looks ahead to the next winter and constitutes only a small intervention on the functioning of the energy market.
However, the introduction of two temporarily Gas Price Caps, the dynamic price cap on natural gas transactions (Title Transfer Facility (TTF) index) and the new EU framework to cap the price of gas in electricity generation, need to be now carefully implemented and strongly monitored to avoid any distortions in the global energy market risking Europe to face a security of supply issue.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On Tuesday 18 October 2022, Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, presented a Proposal for a Council Recommendation on a coordinated approach by the EU to strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure.
The proposal was drafted in light of the massive attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine and attacks on the German rail and Nord stream. The EU started the work on strengthening the resilience of critical infrastructures in 2020, with a revision of 2 twin directives: the CER Directive and the NIS2 Directive. The co-legislators already reached an agreement on both directives before the summer. The European Commission is now reacting to the current events with a Council Recommendation, geared to reinforce preparedness, response and international cooperation.
The preparedness will be strengthened by helping and supporting Member States with stress tests, expertise, exchange of the best practices in prioritised sectors such as energy, transport, digital and space. The response to the attacks will be strengthened and coordinated via the Civil Protection Mechanism and the international cooperation with the NATO and Western Balkans will be strengthened.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
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