6 December 2024
On Monday 2 December 2024, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, addressed the first conference organised by SGI Cyprus, a national section of SGI Europe. On this occasion, Valeria Ronzitti introduced SGI Europe’s structure and work towards the EU in detail. The meeting was attended by leaders of SGI companies from Cyprus from a broad range of key sectors such as energy, transport and healthcare. In the margins of the meeting, Mrs Ronzitti also met Yiorgos Papanastasiou, Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry
Following this introduction, the conference was divided into three main discussions. The first roundtable, “Steering Through Change: Leadership’s Role in Enforcing New Governance Framework,” was opened by Andreas Ioannides, SGI Europe Vice President and General Manager of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus. It was followed by an exchange on the “Green Transition and Sustainable Development Goals”, opened by Maria Ioakim, member of SGI Cyprus and Cyprus Port Authority administration and personnel manager. The final discussion on “Opportunities and Prospects of Artificial Intelligence” was introduced by Kypros Stavrides, SGI Cyprus treasurer and State Health Services Organisation of Cyprus CEO. Professor Constantinos Phellas, SGI Cyprus President and Senior Vice-Rector of the University of Nicosia, made the conclusions and closing remarks.
Through its networking opportunities, this conference allowed Ms Ronzitti to meet the members of this new section and exchange about SGI Europe activities and present the main topics that SGI Europe boards and task forces are addressing while providing the chance to SGI Cyprus members to see how they can fit in this common effort.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
On 3 and 4 December, SGI Europe participated in the cluster seminar “Reinforcing the European Social Dialogue and Industrial Relations”. Organised in Prague by the European social partners (ETUC, BusinessEurope, SGI Europe, and SMEunited), the seminar gathered social partners from Czechia, Belgium, Italy, and Portugal.
The event aimed to increase knowledge of social dialogue and collective bargaining at the national level in a comparative and proactive way through the organisation of separate workshops at both sectoral and national levels and reporting sessions. Following a presentation from the Czechs’ trade unions and social partners, representatives from the EU-level social partners presented the latest results and actions of the European social dialogue, including the implementation at the European and national levels of the European social partners Autonomous Framework Agreement on Digitalization.
Through this cluster seminar, the European social partners provided the framework for the national social partners of member states to exchange examples of best practices and debate on the outcomes of the European social dialogue as a way to influence the policy and political debates in line with both employers and trade unions, as well as labour markets’ priorities.
In this view, while presenting actions undertaken at the national level to negotiate collective bargaining, social partners of Czechia, Belgium, Italy, and Portugal have successfully exchanged views and discussed the priority action areas and the barriers faced in their national contexts.
Contact: Cecilia Martin
On Wednesday 4 December, SGI Europe attended a lunch debate on affordable housing organised by the German Public Banks. The event focused on what can be done on a European level to make affordable housing more accessible throughout the continent.
After Melanie Kloth of the NRW.BANK (the promotional bank for North Rhine-Westphalia) had presented the bank’s flagship project of supporting social housing in Cologne, she was joined by four other panellists for the discussion. MEPs Matthias Ecke (S&D, DE) and Brigitte van den Berg (RE, NL) attended from the side of the European Parliament, while Agnese Papaia (Social and Inclusive Entrepreneurship, DG EMPL) and Jonas Sebhatu (InvestEU implementation, DG ECFIN) represented the European Commission.
The discussion focused mainly on the potential revision of state aid rules for social and affordable housing (SGEI definition). The MEPs viewed such a revision favourably, while the Commission representatives indicated that more information needs to be gathered from stakeholders to determine if and how such a revision would benefit the (social) housing sector and tenants.
SGI Europe contributed to the discussion by raising the issue of how to ensure that existing funding is used effectively, balancing the need to provide sufficient affordable housing with the need to decarbonise the housing sector. We will continue to monitor all EU-level developments in housing in the coming period.
Contact: Ruben Sansom
The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (ESPCO) met on 2 December to discuss and agree on several key topics.
The Hungarian presidency sought to agree on the Council’s negotiating position (general approach) on the Traineeship directive. While several member states were ready to support the general approach, others urged that they need more work. The scope of the directive and the distinction between employment and traineeship were some issues the opposing member states brought up. The Council will continue to work on the proposal under the Polish presidency.
The Council approved conclusions on labour and skills shortages in the EU, focusing on mobilising untapped labour potential. Following up on the Commission’s action plan from March 2024, the Council conclusions focus on two of the five identified areas for action: boosting support for skills, training and education, particularly for people currently underrepresented in the labour market. Some key initiatives highlighted in the conclusion were providing up- and reskilling opportunities in areas of identified labour market needs, addressing individual and structural barriers to labour market participation and improving labour and skill forecasting.
Other agenda points included a policy debate on future priorities in employment and social policy, approving conclusions on improving access to services to promote the social inclusion of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion and approving conclusions on ensuring work-life balance and gender equality for all generations.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 5 December, the European Commission presented to MEPs of the ENVI committee its 2023 Climate Action Progress Report. While the report showcases significant progress in reducing emissions, it highlights the transport sector as a critical area needing urgent improvement.
The report highlighted that EU emissions fell by 8.3% in 2023, reaching 37% below 1990 levels, while the economy grew by 68%. This confirms that emissions reductions are compatible with economic growth, keeping the EU on track to meet its 2030 goal of a 55% emissions reduction.
Amongst others, it further puts forward a 16.5% decrease in emissions from power and industrial installations under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), a 24% drop in emissions from electricity and heating, driven by renewable energy expansion and a 2% reduction in emissions across buildings, agriculture, transport, and waste sectors. It also points out that ETS revenues of €43.6 billion was generated for climate action investments, and a 8.5% increase in natural carbon absorption, reversing previous declines.
Despite these overall successes, the transport sector stands out as a major concern. Emissions have barely decreased, with less than 1% reduction in 2023. In particular, the report highlights a 9.5% increase in aviation emissions, reflecting a rebound following the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation underscores SGI Europe’s urgent call for policy interventions to support a modal shift from road to rail and to invest further in public transportation.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
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