27 October 2023
On Wednesday 25 October 2023, 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 Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain.
Taking the floor in the opening round, Pascal Bolo, SGI Europe President, highlighted that with the EU elections approaching, the EU institutions must demonstrate that Europe works in the interests of both workers and enterprises. He further added that in the context of an increasingly complex geopolitical environment, a united and strong Europe has never been more necessary, and must rely on key fundamentals: an economic governance that avoids mistakes of the past and prepares for the future, a legislative environment which supports the development of SGIs and strong social dialogue in all Member States. SGI Europe also called on the European Commission to propose a "Blue Deal" to safeguard water, one of our most precious assets. Without an adequate and sufficient water supply, the reindustrialisation of the EU will be hampered.
In the moderated discussion, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, emphasised the key role of social partners and social dialogue, including in the enlargement process. She further called for EU leaders to better include social dialogue in the enlargement process, and make clear that EU candidate countries need efforts to be a part of the European social dialogue.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 26 October, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) organised a high-level event on its call for an EU Blue Deal, focusing on the urgency to address the issue of scarce water resources and the impacts on the environment, the economy and the social.
At this event, Michele Falcone, chair of SGI Europe’s Water Task Force, addressed the panel on sustainable consumption of water, with a focus on the need to avoid conflicts amongst the consumers, agriculture and industries. Mr Falcone called for strategically developing sound EU policies to foster sustainable use of water for generations to come. It is indeed the responsibility of public services to ensure good and qualitative access to water supplies yet with climate change and an economic recession in place this service is increasingly challenged. Mr. Falcone underlined that priority should be taken for climate and water policies that respect the Precautionary and Control at Source Principle.
During the event, the EESC also held its debate with its various co-rapporteurs on the EU Blue Deal initiative. Amongst them, Milena Angelova, SGI Europe Vice-President, has also stressed out that measures need to be designed to bring more awareness on better usage of water across the sectors and respond adequately to the current challenges through digitalisation and advanced logistics in cities and urban areas.
The EESC officially adopted 21 policy recommendations and 15 guiding principles for an EU Blue Deal, highlighting that water can no longer be treated in silo. Water protection calls for addressing this resource through its economic, environmental and social aspects.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On 25 October 2023, a public hearing took place in the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) on the topic of "The social impact of public procurement, including sub-contracting - can the EU do more?"
A panel of experts presented a number of issues and recommendations for public procurement, mainly on socially responsible public procurement, collective bargaining, the promotion of decent work, high social and environmental standards in cities, social dumping and legal uncertainty.
Amongst the different issues highlighted in the exchange of views, the transposition of the Directive 2014/24/EU – and how the social provisions have been transposed in national law and used by public authorities – was at the heart of the discussion. Amongst others, experts highlighted that some provisions of the Directive 2014/24/EU have a problematic transposition in national law - especially the horizontal social clause, the articles on reservations for social services and on award criteria. Another aspect addressed was the promotion of collective bargaining through public procurement, the use of public procurement to promote “decent work”, as well as the perspective of local authorities in awarding public tenders supporting social and environmental demands, and how they monitor, implement and sanction the offenders.
The European Commission also highlighted that social procurement is taking up very slowly and that the Public Procurement Directive strikes the right balance between the rights of workers and fair competition. The EC however acknowledged that one of the main issues with the current framework is the very fragmented awareness and skill of public authorities, especially for those with limited resources, as well as the difficulty of finding data on public procurement.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
This week, the European Parliament Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) organised a public hearing on the revision of the Late Payments Directive. The proposed revision seeks fairness in commercial transactions and increases resilience among SMEs and supply chains.
The discussion highlighted that while the proposal aimed to standardise payment terms at 30 days, the importance of flexibility and sector-specific agreements were emphasised by business representatives. They pointed out that the issue of late payments varies across European countries, with some exhibiting prompt payment cultures. Concerns were raised about the potential consequences of enforcing a strict 30-day term without considering the individual characteristics of industries. Others argued that late payments significantly affected businesses, with the Commission citing data showing that the average payment time was 57 days and emphasised that large companies were more prone to delayed payments.
The Commission also highlighted the negative impact on the overall economy and stated that regulating late payments was a common practice in different countries worldwide. Additionally, there were discussions about ensuring clarity and precision in setting payment terms. The emphasis was on reducing instances of abuse, and it was noted that some companies exploited flexible payment terms to delay payments intentionally. As such, the proposed regulation was seen by some as a way to improve the payment culture and promote financial literacy and training for small businesses.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
On Tuesday 24 October 2023, the European Commission reported on what it has been done to promote and support the development and deployment of clean technologies, by reinforcing the Single Market, ensuring a level-playing field, supporting research and innovation, expanding its network of trade agreements, and mitigating the impact of external developments.
Within this report, the European Union is taking stock of all measures put in place to promote investment in clean technologies in the Single Market. The EU created incentives and predictability through an ambitious regulatory framework, especially with the Fit for 55 package, the Net-Zero Industry Act, or the Green Industrial Plan. All these initiatives aimed at positioning the EU as a leader of industrial innovation.
EU officials also shed light on the issue of skills. The European Year of Skills was welcomed by all stakeholders, including social partners such as SGI Europe. More specifically, SGI Europe highlights the importance of the Skills and Talent Package. Within this initiative, the EU Talent Pool as a tool to facilitate international recruitment and provide opportunities for skilled third-country nationals to work in EU labour market sectors in tension, is an idea we are advocating for. But this tool still needs to be shaped in a win-win way. Social partners' contributions are instrumental in this sense.
For more information: Report on EU policy initiatives for the promotion of investments in clean technologies (europa.eu)
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
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