Opening speech of the PSS, by Hans-Joachim Reck, CEEP President

Dear Vice-President Katainen,
Dear Mr. Stantič,
Dear Mr. Lahti,
Dear Bernadette Ségol,
Dear Milena and Tom,
Dear CEEP-Members,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I’d like to cordially welcome you to our second CEEP Public Services Summit! Exactly 30 years ago, representatives of our organization have laid the basis for a cross-sectorial social dialogue at European level together with Jacques Delors. At the beginning we concentrated on issues in the field of European employment and social policies. But then it was discovered that cooperation in economic terms, as foreseen in the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), made a joint coordination of other policies inevitably necessary.

This fact can for example be observed in a closer cooperation in environmental policies or a common monetary policy. Today the countries of the European Union have grown that close together, that around 80 percent of the decisions taken in Brussels have a direct or indirect effect on each individual citizen and with it also on the Public Services. Therefore, it was coherent to identify major European social partners 30 years ago which are involved in European policy-making in an institutionalized way and which have been assigned an own chapter in European primary law. CEEP therefore takes an eminent role compared to other European umbrella organisations. We are no classical lobby organisation, but we are an acknowledged partner of the EU institutions. This fact is at the same time recognition and duty. Because one thing is for sure: industrial relations in Europe are as complex today as European Policy-Making, since the EU was enlarged from 10 member states in 1985 up to 28 member states today.

CEEP does also have to face this complexity. However, our positioning for example in the field of European energy policy has shown that the CEEP members are a good indicator for the subsequent positioning of the Council. So, have a look at the CEEP and you will know how the EU member states will position themselves. But CEEP members are not only faced with new challenges by the multi-level governance system. It is also the European-wide economic and financial crisis that put our members under an enormous pressure during the last seven years. The essential role of social partners could be detected just in these times of crises. It is a matter of fact, that those member states, which better faced the crisis, possessed a well-functioning social dialogue system. I do however emphasize, that many things do also have to change. As a self-critical employer I want to stress that we can do more to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Public Services. The reforms that have been initiated in many member states in the last seven years originated from the fact, that the public sector hasn’t been able to react to and to anticipate necessary change fast enough.

Therefore CEEP could be in a leading position for the initiation of a benchmarking system for the European public sector. On this basis it would be possible to exchange best-practices and to commonly reform the regional and local administrations as well as the public utilities in a cooperative relationship. Dear ladies and gentlemen, both the Political Guidelines of the new EU-Commission as well as today’s conference put the emphasis on the foundation of growth and employment in Europe. In order to achieve this goal, two prerequisites are necessary, out of my point of view: A) de-facto investments and B) re-gaining trust in the “European project”. In both terms a do see the CEEP as a partner of the European institutions and the other way round.

One of the first major projects initiated by the new European Commission has been the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). Its aim is to stimulate investments of 315 billion Euros within the next three years by diminishing the risk-bearing capacity of investors. Only 21 billion Euros will be coming out of the EU budget respectively from the European Investment Bank. It is envisaged that 1 Euro public guarantee will initiate 15 times more public or private investments. I especially appreciate that the Vice-President of the European Commission for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, Jyrki Katainen, is with us today. Hence I’d like to emphasize that CEEP explicitly welcomes the focus on the sectors identified by the EFSI. A major priority of the fund is foreseen for investments in infrastructure, especially in the fields of broadband, energy and transport infrastructure. We do also appreciate the focus on renewable energies, energy efficiency as well as education and health. Public and private investments are asked to go hand in hand, complementing each other.

In this context, both as president of CEEP and as European citizen, I’d like to point out, that Public Services are the backbone of the European social-market economy. Therefore investments in enterprises, education and infrastructure form the basis for future prosperity and technological progress as well as for the establishment of further employment.

In the current debate on the issue of Industry 4.0 it is far too often disregarded that Public Services are indispensable for all the following value-added steps: A reliable and intelligent energy supply as well as a coherent transport infrastructure is a prerequisite for efficient industrial production; high-speed broadband access is a prerequisite for the digitalization of both the economy and the society; secure water and sanitation are constitutive for the well-being of the whole population. The English language invented a proper term for these facts: it calls public services the “enabling services“. This snowball-effect can even be proved: According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the increase in public investments in an amount of one percent of the national GDP leads to economic growth of 0.4 percent in the very same year. Four years later the increase amounts for 1.5 percent. I am, however, also convinced, that is it is not only the right financial instruments we need but also the right and long-term oriented political framework.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in the last minutes remaining, I’d like to focus on one topic that more and more worries me, when thinking about the future of Public Services. The current European Commission has dedicated even two Commissioners to the topic of digitalization. Andrus Ansip as Vice-President for the Digital Single Market and Günther Oettinger as Commissioner in charge of the Digital Economy and Society.

Just recently on 6^th of May the Commission presented its strategy for the Digital Single Market. I am highly convinced that the focus of the Commission on digitalization is at least as important as the focus on growth and jobs whereas both topics do anyway closely relate to each other. The digital age does mean both, a big chance as well as a big challenge for Europe and its economy. Public Services are equally affected by this development, no matter which type of service they represent. New technologies change the demands and comportment of clients and citizens. They dramatically change communication, information and operating procedures. At the same Public Services will have to face rising requirements with respect to IT-security.

Digitalization does have many faces: Social Media, Smart-Service offers, intelligent transportation, just to mention a few. All these developments do not only ask for adaptation. In an optimal way Public Services do use these developments in order to pro-actively design new business opportunities. Many Public Services already today are either fully or partially facing a European-wide market situation. The digitalization does lead to a situation on which new third parties enter into these markets all of a sudden. Sometimes they are coming from completely other branches. This becomes quite obvious for example if you have a look at the smart home market and the activities of Google, Vodafone or Samsung. The development of new technologies raises new expectations concerning the nature of Public Services. We have to be fully aware of these developments and tackle them pro-actively. Therefore we also have to modernize in this field in order to stay attractive in the long run and in order to be able to fulfill the demands of our customers and citizens also in the future. I am sure that a new generation of Public Services is about to emerge.

And I am also sure that the CEEP with its cross-sectorial membership is the right organization to tackle these challenges together. Todays and tomorrow’s CEEP Public Services Summit will discuss all the mentioned topics more in depth. I am therefore looking forward to an interesting exchange of views!