“Thank you for the invitation to come and speak to you. It was important for me to come here early in my mandate. Because the European Economic and Social Committee embodies the European model. It is unique. Unique that EESC delegates participate in the European project – unions, workers, employers, consumers, academia, farmers, fishers, human rights organisations, liberal professions, civil society. It is unique that, in Europe, we bring the social partners together.
Because social dialogue is the bedrock of our European model. One of the key things that make Europe a union, and what makes us different. It enables us to find sustainable solutions to problems, based on a constant negotiation between various representatives of our societies. This is the way to connect with citizens at a time when it is more important than ever to do so. And it is an imperative for tackling the biggest challenges we are facing today. For example, achieving climate neutrality – which social dialogue can make just and inclusive, the only way to make it work. Or cementing our global position by building our network of partnerships – for which we need to involve all stakeholders. Or on enlargement – which cannot be a success if we don’t listen to civil society, for example in the candidate countries in the Western Balkans. It is of great value that the EESC has been reaching out to them on a regular and intense basis.
Another good example of the important role of social dialogue is the “Youth Test” that you have introduced. It gives an idea for including young voices in the European Union lawmaking, ensuring that the young generation is heard and their preoccupations are addressed. Which is very important nowadays. Many of our young generation suffer the most from the housing crisis. And they doubt whether they will be better off than the previous generation.
For the young generation, and for all of us, we need to address the big questions that our economic and social model faces: Will we be able to decarbonise our economies and boost our competitiveness? Will we succeed in reducing strategic dependencies and preserving prosperity? Will EU companies be technology leaders in the 21st century? Will we create more qualified jobs? Will we secure our European social pillar? In short: will we uphold the EU’s promise of shared prosperity for its citizens?
The EU has always been anchored in that promise. Overall, each Member State is much more prosperous thanks to EU membership. Our market is very attractive, and employment is still at record highs.
But the challenge today is to uphold the prosperity promise. For businesses now struggling with high energy prices and administrative burden, for workers and their social security, for the next generation facing a permacrisis and uncertainty.
One side of the coin is renewing our competitiveness. And we must lay today the foundations of the EU’s competitiveness in the late 2020s, the 2030s and the 2040s.
First and foremost, we must talk Single Market. The Single Market is our crown jewel, the cornerstone of the European construction, in the words of Jacques Delors. The Single Market has always been a huge achievement, an ambition, and an unfinished project at the same time. Frozen at a certain level of integration, and then again evolving further. Because, whenever we face the need to renew our competitiveness, renew our prosperity, there is no getting around the power of the Single Market and its enormous potential. This is how it was originally in the 1980s when economic stagnation paved the way for the Single European Act.
This is how it is today, when we need to breathe new life into the Single Market to unlock greater competitiveness. We need to make it easier to bring business across borders, especially small and medium sized companies. We need to make it easier for many more services to cross borders. And for capital, because the fragmentation we see today is preventing innovative companies from scaling up. Our citizens should be able to take up jobs in other EU countries more easily. And we must ensure clear regulations, reducing administration and reporting.
Secondly, we need to listen to Enrico Letta’s and Mario Draghi’s last call to increase our productivity. Because they are right: if we do not increase productivity, we will not be leaders in new tech anymore. Or we will not be leaders in the fight against climate change. Or we will sacrifice our autonomy on the world stage. We cannot do all three things at the same time without higher productivity.
That is why I support the idea of a compass to identify priorities and quick ways of eradicating barriers to growth. A compass that can facilitate close coordination between all levels. This is how we operationalise building competitiveness. This is how we ensure effective action.
Thirdly, we also need to ensure the necessary funding to improve our competitive edge. To close the innovation gap, investment is essential. Not least from private capital. There is so much potential in European investments and savings – if we let them flow across the EU and benefit consumers, investors, and companies, no matter their location. A genuine capital markets union can unlock that potential.
But public funds are also essential. To invest in our sustainable future. And to catalyse private financing into innovative projects. Therefore, we should look at the next EU budget with an open mind. Let us search for solutions to new problems and new solutions to old problems – creatively where it helps.
Problems also vary between Member States. So, we need tailor-made reforms and investments for each country. This is a logic we introduced in Next -Generation -EU. And this logic is good for the future: clear targets, clear timelines, unlocking funds when objectives are reached.
Finally, what the Single Market is internally, is our trade policy externally. A powerful way to build competitiveness. Because trade lets us take part in growth outside the EU. With trade we can have access to the inputs and raw materials we need for green and digital industries. With trade, we are more resilient thanks to a global network of partnerships. It is time to speed up our different trade negotiations, to conclude as many as possible, and to avoid unnecessary tensions with partners.
Single Market, productivity, funding and trade – these are important areas for building our competitiveness. But competitiveness alone, as you said, dear Oliver (Röpke), is not shared prosperity. Because our social market economy is based on a contract between competitiveness and social rights. Without the founding principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, our competitiveness will not be sustainable.
Especially since we must increase our productivity, social dialogue is critical. So, I ask you to help us renew and reinforce the social contract in the face of today’s challenges. Skills are the best illustration of how social policies help competitiveness. We need citizens with new and better skills. For companies that are strong not because they are cheaper, but because they innovate with new business ideas and a skilled workforce. And to provide citizens with new opportunities in quality jobs in the future, through social safety nets, training and education. Investment in skills needs to be at the heart of our strategy. As we pledged to do at the Porto Social Summit: to build a Social Europe and to commit to a golden rule of social investment for jobs, better public services and reduced inequality.
The good thing is: we are on track. We have made the diagnosis, we have ambitious proposals, but we must have political will. The Budapest declaration shows that we all agree with the analysis of Letta and Draghi. And it identifies priorities. We must now deliver!
When talking to leaders across Europe in recent weeks, I could feel the sense of urgency that drives us. There is a general focus on collective action inspired by creativity and guided by pragmatism.
It is very important that we make it a common journey for the EU and Member States. Because renewing our prosperity requires action on both levels. But also for the institutions in Brussels – so together with you, the European Economic and Social Committee.
Let us concentrate on how we can succeed, and avoid getting hung up on what seems most difficult. Let us concentrate not on vague numbers, but on everything we can do for growth, jobs and a Social Europe. So that today’s young generation can look in ten years and say: this was the time when the European Union laid the foundations for our prosperity. This was the time when the European Union paved the way to innovation and leadership in the green and digital age. This was the time when our social model was secured, and the quality of our jobs was assured.
Let us renew the European Union’s promise of shared prosperity. Let us accomplish it together. Thank you very much.”
Source – European Council