8 September 2023
On 7 September 2023, an exchange of views took place in the Employment Committee of the European Parliament (EMPL) with Yolanda Díaz, Spanish deputy PM and Labour Minister, José Luis Escrivá, Minister for Social Security, and Ione Belarra, Minister for Social Rights. The hearing allowed Spanish ministers to highlight to the MEPs the key social priorities for the upcoming semester and restate their commitment to reinforce the social dimension of the EU.
In her intervention, Yolanda Diaz explained to MEPs that the EU pandemic had introduced significant policy change in Europe and that the EU institutions adopted decisions that were unimaginable ten years ago, giving as examples the minimum wage directive and the SURE instrument. The Spanish presidency intends to continue in this direction and take a further step toward social Europe, focusing on social dialogue, decent work and social economy. Ms. Diaz insisted on social dialogue as a core mechanism consubstantial with democracy. She called for the swift and successful conclusion of the negotiations of the EU social partners on telework and a right to disconnect. She also called for social partners to seize the issue of green collective bargaining to accompany the climate transitions. Mrs Diaz also stated to MEPs that democracy at work can be realised through reinforced rights to information and consultation for workers and noted that EU workers are entitled to participate in the decisions affecting their daily lives. The Spanish presidency intends to put forward Council conclusions addressing democracy at work and green collective bargaining by the end of the year.
SGI Europe welcomes the commitment of the Spanish presidency to support and reinforce social dialogue all over Europe. SGI Europe will further elaborate its positions on the respective social priorities of the Spanish presidency during several high-level conferences planned during the semester. It will include notably a conference in Santiago de Compostela on the Future of Work and Social Dialogue (21-22 September), in Toledo on mental health and job instability (26-27 September) and in Barcelona on the European Year of Skills and active labour market policies (19-20 October).
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 31 July, the European Commission adopted the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which will apply to all companies that fall under the definition of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) with exemptions made for listed SMEs that set clear time schedules to phase in the reporting obligations.
This means that, for the majority of listed SMEs, the reporting will start in 2026, with the possibility of an additional two-year opt-out after that period. Further exemptions and supporting advice are being discussed within EFRAG (European Financial Reporting Advisory Group) to develop a draft version for proportionate standards for listed SMEs. Non-listed SMEs, which are not subject to any sustainability reporting requirements under this Directive, may nevertheless receive requests for sustainability information from customers, banks, investors or other stakeholders. EFRAG has also been commissioned to develop more straightforward and voluntary standards for use by non-listed SMEs.
The new standards will cover various environmental, social and governance issues, including climate change, biodiversity and human rights. The aim is to guide investors with needed information to understand the activity impact of a company and its sustainability rates. Furthermore, the new standards were amended based on the technical advice from EFRAG, which covers stakeholders such as investors, companies, auditors, civil society, trade unions, academics and national standard-setters.
Lastly, the Platform for Sustainable Finance reviewed the new standards and will deliver several recommendations on the issue. The final report will be further analysed in the upcoming Plenary meeting on 13 September and compared to the recommendations sent by the Platform.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On 6 and 7 September 2023, the think tank Bruegel held its Annual Meeting on “A symphony in progress, shaping a new agenda for Europe” at the Bozar venue in Brussels. With its sights on the upcoming EU elections in June 2024, the two-day event focused on the most pressing economic issues of our time, including energy prices, high inflation, the erosion of the EU competitiveness, the EU governance problems unresolved or climate change.
On the first day, SGI Europe followed in particular the keynote address by Nadia Calvino, first Vice-president of Spain and Minister for Economy and Digitalization. She highlighted and presented the priorities of the EU Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, particularly on the review of the EU economic governance framework. The first exchanges between Finance Ministers on the topic will occur during the informal Ministers for Economic and Financial Affairs (Ecofin) meeting in Santiago de Compostela on 15 and 16 September 2023. The main aim of the Spanish Presidency is to have an agreement this year.
SGI Europe welcomes this timing: it is urgent for EU leaders to agree on a new set of rules ahead of the scheduled deactivation of the general escape clause by the end of 2023. The new rules must, therefore, be agreed upon and in place by the beginning of 2024. SGI Europe continues to advocate for ending the austerity faced by public services and SGIs in the past and calls for a comprehensive reform of the EU economic governance framework, enabling productive investments in SGIs.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
This week, the Commission has proposed a Council Recommendation for a Critical Infrastructure Blueprint to enhance EU coordination in response to attempts to disrupt critical infrastructure.
The geopolitical context in which critical infrastructure operates is highly volatile, particularly in the context of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and increasing hybrid attacks. This new initiative follows several measures geared toward enhancing the protection of critical infrastructure to avoid or mitigate the effects of disruptions in essential services, such as the Council Recommendation to accelerate the work to protect critical infrastructure proposed in 2022. The EU-NATO Task Force on Resilience of Critical Infrastructure, launched in March 2023, also prepared a report mapping current security challenges and presenting targeted recommendations to strengthen resilience.
The proposal for Critical Infrastructure Blueprint aims to ensure a targeted, proportionate and effective approach. It provides a roadmap with measures that can be applied when Member States face significant critical infrastructure incidents. It focuses on three main objectives in response to a significant critical infrastructure incident:
Improve shared situational awareness by better understanding the significant critical infrastructure incident in the Member States, its origin, and its potential consequences for all key operational and strategic/political stakeholders.
Ensure coordinated public communication to minimise discrepancies in the messages conveyed to the public after a significant critical infrastructure incident. Clear public communication is also essential to tackle disinformation.
Provide effective response by strengthening the response of Member States and cooperation between Member States and with relevant Union institutions, bodies, offices, and agencies, which will mitigate the effects of a significant critical infrastructure incident and enable swift reestablishment of essential services.
The Blueprint can be applied when the incident has a significant disruptive effect to or in six or more Member States, when the incident has a significant disruptive effect in two or more Member States, or if timely policy coordination in the response at the EU level is required, due to the incident's impact.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
On Wednesday, the European Commission presented a Communication highlighting concrete steps to further digitalise the coordination of social security systems in Europe. The communication lays out actions to make access to social security services quicker and simpler across borders by fully using digital tools and reducing administrative burdens.
It should improve the exchange of information between national social security institutions and speed up the recognition and granting of eligible benefits across borders, making it easier for Europeans to live, work and travel abroad, for companies to do business in other EU countries, and for national administrations to coordinate social security across borders.
The proposal calls on Member States to accelerate the national implementation of the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI), deliver more social security coordination procedures fully online, fully engage in the European Social Security Pass (ESSPASS) pilot activities and work towards introducing EU Digital Identity (EUDI) wallets.
The European Labour Authority will also be called to play an active role by collecting best practice examples and facilitating regular exchanges among national authorities.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
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