Tue. Oct 15th, 2024

Brussels, 19 October 2022

EU leaders and social partners met at the tripartite social summit to discuss “tackling the energy crisis and the cost of living crisis: How to protect the economy, businesses and workers”. The summit participants intervened on the following issues:

  • Assessment of the impact of the war on the current socioeconomic situation
  • Measures to tackle the energy crisis
  • Economic and social support measures to tackle the cost of living crisis

The President of the European Council Charles Michel commented:

“The war in Ukraine and high energy prices are putting pressure on our families, businesses, and economies. So we need to act. The EU and its member states have already put in place some measures, but more needs to be done in the weeks to come. We count on the good cooperation with social partners to address today’s most pressing challenges, just like we did during COVID-19.”

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said:

“The energy crisis is hitting everyone hard, workers, businesses and consumers alike. The increased cost of living is weighing on households that are already under strain. In these difficult times, the Commission has put forward targeted initiatives to reduce energy costs for families and businesses and provide energy security for this and coming winters. We need everyone on board and social partners play a key role.”

From the side of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, the Prime Minister of Czechia, Petr Fiala, added:

“Before the European economy was able to fully recover from the pandemic, the Russian aggression against Ukraine – Europe’s worst security crisis since the Second World War – triggered soaring energy prices and living costs. Russia’s actions pose a serious threat to the security and prosperity of the EU. As the presidency of the Council, we have reacted swiftly and effectively, in cooperation with the member states, EU institutions and social partners, to address the impacts of the war in Ukraine. We are working intensively on tackling the impacts of the war-driven energy crisis on our businesses and labour markets as well as on our social, health and educational systems. We have responded with unity, solidarity and resolve. Today’s summit demonstrates the importance of an inclusive social dialogue for strengthening the resilience of our economies and societies and for adopting measures which will be fair, balanced and well-targeted.”

The General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Luca Visentini, noted:

“Millions of people across Europe are struggling to afford food, heating, and transport as a result of profiteering, particularly by energy companies, on the supply bottlenecks created by the war. That is putting many jobs at risk as prices for energy force industries to scale back production. This situation cannot be tolerated, and we need energy price caps and a windfall tax on excess profits to fund emergency payments for the poorest households as soon as possible. Some progress has been made but action needs to match the urgency of the situation if we are to avoid this crisis costing lives this winter. But the EU has so far overlooked two crucial solutions to this crisis: a second SURE scheme to save jobs in energy intensive industries struggling with the cost of energy and support for pay rises to meet the increased cost of living.”

BusinessEurope’s Director General Markus J. Beyrer, representing employers (BusinessEurope, SGI Europe, SMEunited), commented:

“As energy bills are skyrocketing to levels never seen before, many enterprises, of all sizes, across the continent struggle for survival. There is a real danger that energy-intensive businesses relocate outside of Europe where energy prices are much lower, which would have dramatic consequences on our competitiveness and jobs. Locally active enterprises not able to relocate outside of Europe risk closing down with severe consequences for the economic networks, employment and cohesion, in particular in rural areas. Services of general interest must also withstand increasing pressures without damaging or interrupting the provision of essential services to citizens and businesses.

EU leaders need to agree urgently on new EU-wide measures to alleviate costs for European enterprises. If well designed, temporary EU-wide ‘price capping’ measures such as decoupling electricity prices from gas prices would effectively lower the bills without reducing incentives to save energy and improve energy efficiency. Adjusting the EU temporary crisis framework while maintaining a level playing field in the single market is equally important to grant much-needed aid to affected enterprises. On the labour markets, the key challenge ahead is to address in parallel the continuing need for improved skills matching, and the energy crisis’s impact on employment.”

The views cited in this text are those of the individual/organisation concerned and do not collectively constitute the point of view of the Council or the European Council.

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Source – EU Council

 


Statement by President von der Leyen following the Tripartite Social Summit

Thank you so much,

It was wonderful to meet again in person. We have missed you and it was not the same when we saw each other on the screen, but it was really good to have this Tripartite Social Summit today in person. It also showed how important it is that we work very closely together with the social partners in this crisis as we have done it during the pandemic and really with success. We have been basically discussing two main strands: The first is of course addressing the energy crisis and the other strand was how we can make sure that our social market economy stays fit for purpose.

On the first strand, on the topic of energy, the Commission has tabled its proposals on Tuesday. I explained to the Tripartite Social Summit the different proposals that we had. There was overall acknowledgement that we have already achieved a lot. We should not forget that, since March, we have been working on pooling the demand; on filling our storages, we have 92% by now; we are really being serious on energy efficiency, we have reduced energy and gas use by 15% already in September; and most importantly, the proposal that has been adopted now, that Member States can take the windfall profits of energy-producing companies to support vulnerable households and businesses. But we also see that more needs to be done. And on this basis, we can step up in two topics: The one was and is the topic about capping prices. We have been discussing the two different versions that are possible and where we have made proposals.

And the second topic was of course: How can we make sure that there is enough support for SMEs and businesses through REPowerEU? This leads me to the social market economy. Our social market economy must continue to reward performance, on the one hand, but also guarantee protection – this is the core value of the social market economy. It is needed more than ever in crises like this one. For that, we need, first and foremost, of course the social dialogue. Therefore, the Commission will present in the coming months an initiative on improving social dialogue at national and at EU level.

And we will now work together on focusing on the most pressing issue that is: How can we keep the level playing field in our Single Market? We need, as I said, to support businesses, in particular SMEs. Therefore, we will present an SME relief package in the second half of the next year. And we will make further proposals for targeted support for companies impacted by the energy crisis. This is based on the proposal of REPowerEU.

REPowerEU has been proposed in March. It is agreed in the College of the Commission and on the table of Parliament and Council since May. And we really call on Parliament and Council now to finalise REPowerEU because we need this investment vehicle. It is so important because it can be the investments that we need now – cross-border – in infrastructure, in energy efficiency and in renewables. This will also give fiscal space to Member States which they need to support the vulnerable households. And therefore, it is of utmost importance that we have this EU-financed instrument up and running because not all Member States have the fiscal space to support their SMEs and their businesses. And here would be the opportunity to go forward with something where the social partners agree that it is necessary.

My last point is: We have been discussing the topic of skills. A well-functioning labour market needs good skills. We have a low unemployment rate of 6%, but we should not oversee that this covers only or camouflages the fact that there is a big need for skilling people, upskilling and reskilling with a changing economy and a changing labour market. There is a reason why we have called 2023 the European Year of Skills. Here too, social partners will have a very important role to play. It is impossible to bring the skills agenda forward without the social partners. We need you, because you know best how to match people’s aspirations and skills with the companies’ needs. So in sum: We are in tough times, the more we need the social dialogue and the social partners.

Source – EU Commission

 


Remarks by President Charles Michel following the Tripartite Social Summit

Today we met with our social partners at a challenging time for the world and for our European Union. It is a time of war. Russia is brutally attacking the people of Ukraine, and Ukraine is bravely defending itself.

And Russia’s war has unleashed high energy prices and put pressure on our families and businesses across the EU and beyond. This was the main topic of our summit today with the social partners.

The active participation of social partners will again be essential in facing today’s challenges, just like during COVID 19. Energy will be the focus of our European Council meeting tomorrow and Friday, and we have three goals: lowering prices, guaranteeing security of supply, and having a functioning single market with no distortion.

The question is, how do we achieve this?

We are not starting from scratch: the EU, along with our member states, has already taken measures on energy savings, on gas storage for the coming winter, and on some key issues we have taken decisions that need to be enforced. Joint purchases of energy resources, for instance. On others, especially on reducing energy prices, we have had many strategic discussions.

In fact, this topic has been at the top of the European Council’s agenda for a long time. Since March we have invited the Commission to come up with proposals to tackle high prices and address the energy crisis, and the Commission has now tabled its proposals. The time has come to take the bold decisions our citizens and businesses expect. There is one question, one important question: do we do it the European way, acting together in the common interest, or do we do it alone? We should avoid the temptation of national-only approaches to tackle this crisis, because this would be a huge mistake.

The national-only approach will not work, because it would endanger our single market, which benefits us all. It is our strongest asset. Jeopardising the single market means jeopardising the prosperity and the future of all member states, without exception. Tomorrow we will discuss, and I hope decide on, the options on the table.

First, negotiating with partners on security of supply and lower import prices. To keep gas imports on the same level, EU countries have spent much more in this new situation, and generated windfall profits for gas providers and for the respective countries. This imbalance between close partners and closely linked economies is not a good situation. This is common sense. I am sure, I am confident we can find a mutually satisfactory solution to this problem.

Second, we will discuss putting into action joint purchases of gas, because this will strengthen our collective bargaining power and ensure we don’t drive up prices by competing against each other.

Third, we will examine a workable solution on gas price caps, taking into account our energy supply. A significant number of member states are in favour of capping gas prices, and there are different options on the table. We need a clear way forward with clear deadlines.

Enfin, je voudrais ajouter que ce qui est en jeu dans le cadre de cette crise de l’énergie, c’est la robustesse du marché intérieur et la nécessité d’agir pour éviter tout risque de fragmentation de ce marché. Le marché intérieur est un atout absolument essentiel pour la prospérité et le progrès au niveau de l’Union européenne.

Le message est très clair: il y a une responsabilité politique qui repose sur les épaules de l’ensemble des dirigeants sur le plan européen et sur le plan national. Sommes-nous prêts à agir ensemble pour protéger l’avenir de ce projet européen?

Je compte sur la mobilisation, je compte sur le courage, afin que demain des pas en avant significatifs soient réalisés dans l’intérêt de l’ensemble des citoyens et des entreprises de l’Union européenne.

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