SGI Europe at the Porto Social Forum

On Saturday 27 May 2023, SGI Europe addressed the Porto Social Forum. Organised by the Portuguese government, the Social Forum reaffirmed the role of Social Europe building up on the success of the 2021 Porto Social Summit. Involving the Presidency of the Council of the EU, the European Commission, the European Parliament, social partners, and civil society, the Social Forum further created synergies for an inclusive, fair, and social future of Europe.

Joining Pierre-Yves Dermagne (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy and Employment, Belgium), Oksana Zholnovych (Ministry of Social Policy, Ukraine), Yolanda Diaz Perez, Vice-President of the Government, Spain), Esther Lynch (ETUC, Secretary General) and Piotr Sadowski (Social Platform, President), Valeria Ronzitti, Secretary General, addressed the panel focusing on “The European Social Model as a geopolitical lever”.

In that context, Mrs Ronzitti emphasised that the EU social model, based on strong public services and SGIs, is a core element of EU competitiveness and can help attract investment and increase productivity and well-being at work. She also highlighted that the EU social market economy is also a driver for promoting democracy at work, values and the rule of law, which are all central elements in the global context.

To ensure that the social model supports the EU’s geopolitical ambition, Mrs Ronzitti stressed two core elements:

• A new narrative on competitiveness, including a reflection on the role of quality, affordable and accessible SGIs, including by setting up EU public goods in areas with a clear “EU added-value” supported by genuine own-resources, to keep the EU strategic autonomy and preserve the EU social model.
• A continued commitment to autonomous social dialogue and collective bargaining by supporting strong employers and trade unions as highlighted in principle 8 of the EU Pillar of Social Rights and the Council recommendation on Social dialogue.

The EU’s economic prosperity must go hand in hand with a strong social dimension, giving greater visibility to social rights and reinforcing the assessment of social standards and upward social convergence as part of sustainable socio-economic governance anchored in tripartism. Building upon the successes of past Social Summits (in Gothenburg in 2017 and Porto in 2021), SGI Europe further re-emphasised at the Porto Social Forum that SGIs must be put at the core of social Europe.