Tripartite Social Summit: Services of general interest must be at the heart of the solution to the current crisis, says SGI Europe

On Wednesday 19 October 2022, Pascal Bolo, SGI Europe President, and Valeria Ronzitti, General Secretary, addressed the Tripartite Social Summit in the presence of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Petr Fiala, Czech Prime Minister. Bringing concrete examples from its members in Germany, Italy and France, SGI Europe highlighted the key priorities for SGI employers and providers to mitigate the social and economic costs of the current crisis, as well as the urgent needs of services of general interest in that context.

Addressing the opening panel, Pascal Bolo, SGI Europe President, said:

“In this very deteriorated context, enterprises of SGIs are facing extreme pressures threatening their ability to fulfil their missions to the public. SGI Europe members, who provide services essential to our daily lives, are caught between two fires with rising energy and commodity prices, labour shortages, and the increasing difficulty for many citizens and companies to pay their bills. Those challenges put many SGI enterprises on the brink of insolvency.”

“SGI Europe calls for the Temporary Crisis Framework for state aid to be extended beyond 2022, and for as long as necessary, as well as to be broadened to support all enterprises. Above all, we must not compromise the ambitions of the EU Green Deal, which must remain our long-term growth strategy. Planned investments in renewable and decarbonised energy must be maintained to improve the EU’s resilience and autonomy and learn from past experiences."

In the moderated discussion, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, commented:

“The magnitude of the crisis we are experiencing today clearly shows the costs of past non-action. In the face of the looming climate crisis, SGI Europe considers that the vision and ambitions of the EU Green Deal remain the best way forward. As no one should be left behind, we welcome the initiatives already undertaken by several Member States to keep economic actors and citizens afloat. The EU cannot afford to repeat past mistakes, which led to underinvestment and economic and social regress in the last decade.”

(Photo: Copyright - European Union)