24 January 2025
On Friday 24 January 2025, Roxana Minzatu, European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, received the EU cross-industry social partners to exchange views on the upcoming Commission Work Programme for 2025 (scheduled for release on 11 February 2025).
During this meeting, EVP Minzatu presented the main proposals expected from the European Commission this year in social affairs and employment. Amongst others, EVP Minzatu particularly highlighted the Quality Jobs Roadmap, the new Action Plan on the Implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Pact for Social Dialogue.
On behalf of SGI Europe, General Secretary Valeria Ronzitti emphasised the crucial role played by enterprises providing services of general interest - both as providers of services and as employers - in the competitiveness of the EU, and their necessary inclusion in the Competitiveness Compass, which should provide a long-term economic perspective and materialise a European brand of competitiveness. She also recalled the necessity of consulting social partners prior to shaping proposals in employment and social affairs, in particular in the context of upcoming proposals such as the Quality Jobs Roadmap and the upcoming Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
The Rubes Triva Foundation, with the support of SGI Europe and the collaboration of MEP Brando Benifei (S&D, IT), co-rapporteur on the Artificial Intelligence Act, organises an event which will take place on Tuesday 18 February, at the European Parliament in Brussels. The event “Health and Safety at Work: Enabling, Understanding, and Regulating the New Frontiers of the Working World” will foster meaningful dialogue between policymakers, social partners, and industry leaders. It will address critical topics related to using artificial intelligence in the workplace and its implications for health and safety.
It will also be an opportunity to listen to and discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by new regulations, including the Platform Directive, the AI Regulation, and the new Machinery Regulation. The event will be divided into two distinct parts, with a political debate featuring contributions from institutional representatives and experts in the field and exchanges between social partners and companies from the utilities sector, which are already implementing artificial intelligence in their operations.
The event will be a prelude to the upcoming edition of the International Festival on Health and Safety at Work, which will occur in Gorizia (European Capital of Culture 2025) from 25-27 June 2025.
The complete programme will be circulated in the coming days.
Contact: stampa@fondazionerubestriva.it
On Friday 17 January 2025, SGI Europe launched the outreach activities of its Finance for the European Pillar of Social Rights (Finance4EPSR) project, with a series of three workshops dedicated to Sustainable Finance and the need for a Social Taxonomy. The event brought together representatives of the project partners, HOSPEEM - European Hospital & Healthcare Employers' Association and HEAG Holding AG, and stakeholders representing the healthcare and hospitals, energy, water and transport, and housing sectors.
The participants' active involvement and insightful contributions were key to the event's success. During the workshop, we explored crucial topics surrounding Sustainable Finance and the importance of a Social Taxonomy while exploring the impact of sector-specific self-assessment tools. The sector-specific sessions on housing, healthcare and hospitals, transport, water, and energy provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities across these sectors. Together, we identified actionable steps for fostering more inclusive and sustainable investments in these vital areas.
Contact: Cecilia Martin
A new draft report, prepared by the dedicated Technical Working Group (TWG) of the Platform on Sustainable Finance, in which SGI Europe has a seat as an observer, has been released for public consultation. This document offers preliminary recommendations on the technical screening criteria for activities in the EU Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act. It also suggests several new activities, such as mining and water efficiency, for industries to be included in the EU Taxonomy.
The report, a working document, is not the final position of the Platform. It represents an early stage in the process, and stakeholders are invited to provide feedback on the recommendations as part of an open call for comments from 8 January to 5 February 2025.
In line with its mandate under the EU’s Taxonomy Regulation, the Platform advises the Commission on technical screening criteria and whether updates to these criteria are necessary. The draft report includes proposed revisions to the existing criteria such as in the Adaptation criteria and Climate DA, as well as additions for new activities that could potentially be incorporated into the EU Taxonomy framework.
Notably, the report includes a progress update on the activities that the TWG could not finalise due to time and resource constraints. Due to this reason, the Commission granted the Platform an extension until 31 March 2025 instead of the envisaged 31 December 2024. However, the non-inclusion of any activity in the report does not rule out its future consideration for inclusion in the EU Taxonomy. In particular, SGI Europe is still working on a handover paper that includes Waste-to-Energy and Retail in Energy.
As the Platform moves forward with its work on Usability criteria and transition plans, this call for feedback allows stakeholders across industries to contribute further insights, helping to refine and enhance the proposed criteria. The input gathered during this period will be used and further analysed.
For further information on the report and how to submit feedback, stakeholders can visit the Platform’s official consultation page and contact Policy Advisor Henriette Gleau.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On Tuesday 21 January 2025, economic and finance ministers from all EU member states gathered in Brussels for the first time this year to discuss EU economic policy. Andrzej Domanski, the Polish minister for finance, introduced the Polish presidency work programme. Minister Domanski's main topic was the work of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council to respond to the challenge of the EU's declining competitiveness, focusing on the single market and support to Ukraine.
EU ministers for finance and economy also touched upon the topic of competitiveness and regulatory burden. Ministers engaged in a policy debate on ensuring a globally competitive business environment in Europe through simplification, decluttering and regulatory burden reduction. They look forward to the Commission’s proposed “Omnibus simplification package” proposal.
On the economic governance framework, the Council adopted recommendations regarding the medium-term fiscal-structural plans of 21 member states in the context of implementing the economic governance framework. The Council also adopted recommendations for seven member states under an excessive deficit procedure to take effective action to correct their deficit within a given period. The recommendations under the excessive deficit procedure contain a corrective budgetary path and a deadline for each member state. The budgetary paths in the medium-term fiscal-structural plans and those under the excessive deficit procedure are aligned.
Taking work forward on the European Semester 2025, the Commission introduced to members of the ECON Council the 2025 Alert Mechanism Report. They also exchanged on the Council's recommendation on the economic policy of the euro area.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
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