A year ago, the EU economy seemed on a better footing than projected despite rising geopolitical tensions. As the conflicts in the EU’s neighbourhood continue to develop, and as the post-pandemic recovery is slowing down, the growth prospects are on the downside, highlighting increased risks for all economic and non-economic actors. Investments are being strained, leading to risks to the capacity of EU enterprises to address the green and digital transition successfully.
Surveyed in the first two months of 2024, SGI enterprises highlighted the following critical concerns regarding the present and the future:
- Skills and labour shortages: Labour shortages rebounded sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic. SGI employers are also affected by the situation, with further worsening in healthcare and social services and sectors at the heart of the twin transition, such as construction and building renovation or information and communication technologies (ICT). Those shortages directly affect SGIs’ ability to face a changing world, increasing the pressure on work-life balance.
- Answering the EU housing crisis: The EU is in the middle of a housing crisis, with an increasing share of people facing issues with the costs associated with housing, and the sector facing increasing investment needs to adapt to the Green Deal. This crisis could have significant spillover effects on the job market, as workers struggle more and more to find accommodation close to their place of work, and young people are forced to postpone their entry into active life or keep living with their parents despite working.
- Addressing the administrative burden and reporting obligations: Enterprises can thrive and grow if they face a good regulatory environment with clear and stable rules and avoid unnecessary regulations and compliance costs. Many providers of SGIs have expressed concerns on new reporting obligations stemming from EU legislation, and call for being provided with the suitable support instruments will be central. Also, some of SGI Europe’s national sections have reported the need to monitor the quality of implementation and prevent gold-plating.
- Preserving investment, including in social infrastructure: The EU is faced with historic challenges, including adapting to the green and digital transition, supporting Ukraine’s defence against Russia, and boosting its Open Strategic Autonomy. It should also include a dedicated focus on social investment to address the resilience of the EU social and economic model.
- Better involving social partners in shaping and implementing reform programmes: Since 2021, the quality of the social partners’ involvement in implementing reforms and investments funded by the RRF has been sub-optimal. As we enter the second phase of implementing the RRPs, SGI Europe calls for taking the lessons learned from the first stages and ensuring that social partners are regularly and extensively involved.
- Reconciling the Single Market and Cohesion Policy: The current shape and governance of the Single Market fail to recognise SGIs as the foundation of the European way of life. The lack of a structural approach—best visible through the dissociation between the Single Market and Cohesion Policy—results in turning to SGIs only in case of market failure or when facing a crisis.
