3 November 2023
On Monday 20 November 2023, SGI Europe will organise an event called “The Green Deal as the EU Growth Strategy: Contributions and expectations for SGIs at the heart of the transition”. The event will be held at the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels. It 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).
Speakers will include, amongst others, MEP Dragoș Pîslaru, chair of the European Parliament’s Employment Committee (EMPL), Andriana Sukova, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs, as well as representative of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU and members of SGI Europe.
You can find more information on our website and register to attend on the following form.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On Tuesday 31 October 2023, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, participated in the conference “Resilience to Change: Building Strong Models for a Sustainable Business”, organised by the Malta Employers’ Association (MEA) in the context of the project “Social partners supporting anticipation and management of change after COVID-19”.
Initially focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on workplaces, the project, for which SGI Europe and MEA worked together with the support of the European Commission, aimed to provide practical tools/instruments to enterprises facing a changing world and manage new trends arising from the green, digital, and demographic transition. Triggered by the COVID-19 management, the project evolved and addressed anticipation and management of change within enterprises.
Valeria Ronzitti joined the conference via remote participation. She highlighted that SGI Europe, as an EU cross-industry social partner, has always been a pioneer in addressing the anticipation and management of change, supporting its members in shaping the right tools and instruments to succeed in a world in total transformation. She also emphasised that SGI Europe puts a particular emphasis on ensuring the fairness of the triple transition – green, digital, and demographic - and supports the transformation of workplaces for the benefit of both workers and employers.
The final conference of the project, whose purpose was to present pioneering research on the identification of bottlenecks in business transformation and a manual that will serve as a step-by-step guide for employers to support change in their companies, was attended by several key speakers, including Joanne Bondin, MEA President, Dolores Sammut Bonnici, MEA Senior Vice-President, Joseph Farrugia, MEA Director General, Lorenzo Vella, Head of EU Commission Representation in Malta, Josef Bugeja, Secretary General at the Maltese General Workers Union and Robert Debono, Project Expert.
The final reports and the Manual on company transformation will be further disseminated in the coming weeks and months.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
On 26 and 27 October 2023, EU leaders met in Brussels for a meeting of the European Council. On this occasion, EU leaders discussed the unfolding situation in the Middle East, the need for continued support for Ukraine and the revision of the EU’s long-term budget 2021-2027. They also addressed the economic growth in the EU, migration and external relations topics.
Regarding the proposed revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027, following an in-depth exchange of views, the European Council has invited the Council to take work forward with a view to reaching an overall agreement by the end of the year. After the European Commission proposal in June 2023, this EU Council conclusion is a new step forward to the agreement on a mid-term review of the MFF.
During this meeting, EU leaders also invited the Council to take work forward on the Economic Governance Review, with a call for concluding the legislative work by the end of 2023. SGI Europe welcomes this proposed timing, as it is urgent for co-legislators to find a swift agreement on this issue. With the scheduled deactivation of the general escape clause by the end of 2023, new rules must be in place for the beginning of 2024. SGI Europe has consistently advocated putting an end to austerity faced by public services and SGIs in the past, with a comprehensive reform of the EU economic governance framework that supports long-term productive investments.
Contact: Benoit Cassorla
On Monday 6 November 2023, SGI Europe General Secretary will join the “Social Europe Conference”, organised in Berlin at the initiative of Hubertus Heil, German Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. The primary purpose of the meeting will be to address current social and employment issues on the EU’s agenda in the context of the upcoming European elections.
This conference will bring together Ministers, MEPs, social partners, and academics. It will put a specific focus on issues at the heart of social dialogue, including workplace democracy, labour mobility, and social security systems, as well as the contribution of social partners to the EU agenda. The event will provide a space for a fruitful exchange of innovative ideas in the lead-up to the institutional shake-up expected in 2024.
Together with the EU social partners, General Secretary Valeria Ronzitti will address a panel on “Jointly Shaping Social Europe”, which will also feature Oliver Röpke, President of the European Economic and Social Committee. This panel will be an essential opportunity to address upcoming priorities, such as the digital transformation of workplaces (including the integration of AI), labour shortages and skills mismatches, the green transition as well and the need for institutional support to EU and national social dialogue.
The plenary sessions of the conference will take place from 09:30 to 11:00 and from 14:00 to 16:45 and can be watched on the livestream on the following page.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
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