22 September 2023
SGI Europe is delighted to announce its event “The Green Deal as the EU growth strategy: Contributions and expectations for SGIs at the heart of the transition”, to be held on Monday 20 November 2023 at the European Economic and Social Committee.
The event 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 Andriana Sukova, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s DG EMPL, and MEP Dragoș Pîslaru, chair of the Employment committee of the European Parliament.
More information, including the draft agenda and the link for registration, will be communicated to you very soon.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On 21 and 22 September 2023, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe’s General Secretary, addressed in Santiago de Compostella the high-level event “Future of Work and Social Dialogue” of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Addressing the topic “The European Social Model in the International Context”, Valeria Ronzitti, stated that: “The EU social model champions the idea that social and labour rights are integral to achieving sustainable economic growth and societal harmony. Our social model has led to many concrete achievements, including high quality, affordability and accessibility of services of general interest.
On Friday, in a panel addressing the issue of “Green Collective Bargaining Valeria Ronzitti stated that “A key challenge for collective bargaining to address the green transition is to develop an adequate response to the current significant labour and skills shortages, and which endanger our ability to lead the transition successfully. Social partners have a key role to play in developing methodologies to address the green transition.”
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
The “Common Future – Congress for Reconstruction of Ukraine” took place in Poznan (Poland) on 21-22 September 2023. Elmar Thyen, Chair of SGI Europe’s Energy Task Force, represented SGI Europe on this occasion.
This event was the opportunity to connect with Polish and Ukrainian partners, including representatives from the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce, an organization working closely with Employers of Poland, members of SGI Europe. These meetings and contacts were also the opportunity to prepare the ground for the upcoming EU Social Partners’ mission to Ukraine in which SGI Europe, together with ETUC, will visit representatives of the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian social partners.
The aim of this Congress was to initiate a dialogue on the needs of the Ukrainian economy and the opportunities for Polish partners who are ready to work together. This economic event focused on cooperation between local government officials, government representatives and Polish and Ukrainian enterprises, with the goal of developing a strategy for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Several sectors of interest for SGI Europe were represented, including investments, energy, and transport. The congress was divided into panel discussions, seminars, and networking moments to discuss the legal and economic ground needed for cooperation in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
On 20 September, the Environment Committee of the European Parliament voted on new rules for the collection, treatment and discharge of urban wastewater. The report now calls for setting up the long-awaited Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for pharmaceutical and cosmetic micropollutants. The report – and the extension of the EPR – was adopted with 60 votes in favour, 10 against and 6 abstentions.
For urban wastewater treatment plants, this is a significant step. SGI Europe fully supports the introduction of the EPR as a key instrument of the new directive. The EPR, as a financing measure for quaternary treatment, represents a milestone in implementing the polluter-pays principle in the financing of wastewater treatment.
The vote on Wednesday opted for an 80/20 solution: it implies that the polluters will carry out 80% of the cost, and 20% will be covered by public authorities, with Member States in a position to define who will cover the costs. This could potentially fall into the water bills of the consumers. SGI Europe calls on the Council to remain in line with the proposal of the Commission and ensure that a strong EPR system – and a consequently robust polluter-pays principle – is implemented through the directive. SGI Europe sees it as the only way to prevent pollution from entering the environmental cycle in the first place. Furthermore, SGI Europe restates that all polluter-related prevention-at-the-source measures must have priority over other reduction measures. It makes economically and ecologically more sense to avoid pollution at the source than removing substances once they have entered the water cycle.
SGI Europe welcomes the proposed better monitoring of wastewater content; however we remain critical about the inclusion of PFAS into that list of chemicals. It also needs to be make clear that further monitoring will be an additional new task for urban wastewater treatment plants, which goes beyond the scope of this directive which should focus on the protection of water from pollution.
The vote in Plenary is scheduled for the beginning of October. On its side, the Council is still negotiating its position. Once both the European Parliament and the Council will have approved their position, the EU institutions are ready to start the negotiation process in the trilogue.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
Join us, stay informed
Subscribe to have all the latest news and developments delivered straight to your inbox.