9 May 2024
With one month before the EU elections (on 6-9 June 2024), SGI Europe launches its initiative “Companies For Democracy”. This initiative will bring together companies and enterprises to promote their support of a vibrant democratic EU, emphasising civic responsibility, transparency, and non-partisanship, with Gruppo Veritas SpA as the first partner through their commitment to disseminate reminders to its staff (around 2300 employees) about the EU elections.
The June 2024 EU elections will provide a crucial opportunity to shape the EU’s democratic future collectively. Ensuring that as many citizens as possible are aware of this milestone is a common and joint endeavour, and we believe that companies – big and small, private and public – can play a key role in that process.
Through this initiative, SGI Europe is a proud Communication Partner of the European Parliament, contributing to the collective effort to raise awareness and further increase participation in the EU elections compared with the historic 2019 turnout (when 50,7% voted). This Communication Partnership was acknowledged during a dedicated reception organised by the European Parliament on 6 May 2024, in the presence of President Roberta Metsola and Jaume Duch, Director-General for Communications and spokesperson of the European Parliament.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
On Thursday, 9 May 2024, Milena Angelova, SGI Europe Vice-President, attended the high-level conference “Towards a Social Europe” in Madrid, organised by the Spanish Ministry of Labour on the occasion of Europe Day. Ms Angelova addressed the first panel on “Social Europe in the EU’s 2019-2024 cycle,” taking stock of the developments of the last five years.
SGI Europe recalled on this occasion the importance of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) as a compass to develop social policy in the future, in line with the conclusions of the La Hulpe Summit. As a critical social policy, education and training must be at the core of the EU social agenda. The EU Year of Skills just ended, with an action plan to address labour and skills shortages put forward by the European Commission, but many more challenges remain.
Ms Angelova also reiterated that reinforcing Services of General Interest (SGIs) is a guarantee of social progress and competitiveness. Essential services such as healthcare, housing, and long-term care are already identified as priorities for ensuring a fair European Union. Finally, Ms Angelova highlighted the importance of social dialogue at the EU, national, and local levels, as a solution to overcome socio-political obstacles and foster a more unified and strengthened approach across Europe.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
On 2 May, SGI Europe, together with FEAD, CEWEP, and Municipal Waste Europe, signed a joint letter calling for heat recovered from the thermal treatment of waste (Waste-to-Energy, WtE) to be considered waste heat in the framework of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED). You can see the complete statement here.
The current regulatory framework, particularly the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II and III) and the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), acknowledges the importance of waste heat and sets ambitious targets. However, ensuring that heat recovered from WtE processes is fully recognised within these directives, particularly in the Guidance Documents for RED and EED currently in preparation, is essential.
Accepting the production of heat generated by WtE plants as waste heat under RED and EED is vital for maximising the use of local, sustainable excess energy sources. This approach is not just about energy efficiency. It is about recognising the valuable role WtE plays in managing waste and recovering energy to reach our climate neutrality goals. SGI Europe has joined forces to support a broader environmental objective to support a more resilient and self-sufficient Europe.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
The European Parliament Resolution of 21 January 2021 on the right to disconnect called for legislative action on the right to disconnect and telework at the EU level. In its response, the Commission confirmed its intention to follow up with a proposal for a legislative act. The Commission subsequently invited the social partners to find commonly agreed solutions to the challenges of digitalisation, telework and the right to disconnect. The social partners had started negotiations in October 2022 and informed the Commission that the negotiations had failed in November 2023. As a result, the Commission is pursuing its follow-up to the European Parliament Resolution. It seeks the views of European social partners on the need, direction, and scope of a potential EU initiative in the area of telework and workers’ right to disconnect, which is in line with Article 154 TFEU, with a dedicated consultation.
In its consultation, the Commission identifies the opportunity to introduce a right to disconnect that can be a positive step for workers, especially those primarily using digital tools. In particular, it can help ensure the protection of workers’ health and safety and adequate working conditions and help them strike a better work-life balance. It also identifies several challenges for telework in the areas of employment and working conditions, working time and work-life balance, occupational safety and health, including mental and physical health, worker performance, including telework monitoring, equal treatment and non-discrimination, including gender equality aspects and the impact on different groups at risk of discrimination (based on disability, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity/race and religion) and geographical mobility and cross-border telework.
SGI Europe will respond to the consultation in due time, fully taking stock of all the knowledge it gathered from its members during the EU Social Partners negotiation while also building on the attempts at compromises that were identified during this period.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On Monday 6 May, Enrico Letta spoke at an event titled ‘Revival of EU Single Market - Defining the road ahead’, organised by Euractiv. Letta recently published his report on the future of the EU’s Single Market, which will play a key role in defining the upcoming European Commission’s priorities.
During the event, Letta once again stressed the importance of services of general interest in ensuring the Single Market provides opportunities for all. He argued that a lack of high-quality SGIs in some European regions has resulted in people moving to areas with more economic opportunities and better services for themselves and their children to benefit from. As a result, while some regions are losing all of their ‘youngest and brightest’, others face significant challenges in providing enough affordable housing for the many people arriving.
To reduce these regional disparities and create a Single Market that works for everybody, SGIs must be strengthened in all parts of the EU. High-quality SGIs create attractive places to live and contribute to creating economic opportunities in these areas, both in the provision of SGIs themselves and in the industries that develop due to the better services and infrastructures available thanks to these SGIs.
With these messages, Letta reinforced the critical claim in his report that the EU needs to develop an Action Plan for SGIs. This Action Plan would outline how to ensure that the whole of the EU can benefit from high-quality SGIs, mainly through the provision of sufficient investment.
Contact: Ruben Sansom
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