Brussels, 25 October 2023
EU leaders and social partners met in Brussels for the tripartite social summit. The main theme of the summit was ‘Delivering on building blocks for a successful European Economy for workers and companies‘.
The participants intervened on the following issues:
- addressing labour shortages
- an industrial and energy policy for a successful Europe delivering quality jobs and sustainable growth
- response to the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act and measures for the European Economy – Social Partners’ view
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said:
“As the world around us is changing faster than ever, social partners are at the heart of how we respond to economic and social challenges. With millions of businesses looking for workers, we need to improve the access to the labour market and help workers acquire the skills they need. At the same time, our focus is on simplifying rules for businesses to boost the EU’s competitiveness. Only by working together, side by side with social partners, we will be able to ensure quality jobs and sustainable and inclusive growth.”
The President of the European Council Charles Michel said:
“The European Union is determined to become an industrial, technological, and commercial powerhouse. That means reducing our external dependencies in critical areas — like digital and net-zero technologies and raw materials. Together, we must create the conditions for our industries and businesses to generate jobs that work for people, and develop their skills for the economies of the future. As we adapt to the green, digital, and demographic transitions, we must make sure our economies stay fair, resilient, competitive and sustainable. European social partners will help us to tackle these unavoidable challenges and to make these transitions a success.”
On behalf of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, the acting Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, added:
“One of the four priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union is to promote greater social and economic justice. This requires more intensive efforts to advance the initiatives and objectives set out in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. The Porto Social Summit was an important step forward, but already at that time Spain committed to make further progress. The Tripartite Social Summit is a key moment to exchange views on this topic; it is also a first-class opportunity to enhance social dialogue and involve all social partners in this process.”
BusinessEurope’s President Fredrik Persson, representing employers (BusinessEurope, SGI Europe, SMEunited), said:
“After 5 years of successive crises, we are lagging behind the key global competitors. As they adapt to the green and digital transitions, European enterprises have to cope with significantly higher regulatory burden and energy prices are still notably above their long-term average. The EU needs to do more to address the structural factors that undermine the attractiveness of Europe as an investment location, both public and private. Priority issues to be addressed in the coming year are access to energy at affordable prices, unnecessary reporting requirements and other administrative burdens as well as the labour and skills shortages. European employers look forward to cooperating with the Commission, the Council and ETUC towards the publication in 2024 of an EU action plan to address these shortages.”
The General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Esther Lynch, noted:
“Europe must equip itself with a strong industrial policy to ensure a green and inclusive future. Core to that is a focus on strengthening the quality of employment. Delivering shared prosperity and a workforce that is equipped with the right skills can only be achieved when people have a strong collective bargaining say over their work. Aligning the actions of our public institutions, from the design of measures to combat the cost-of-living crisis to investment and public procurement rules, with this objective is key. Only in this way, can we mobilise the breadth of resources in our society towards seizing opportunities to clean technologies and boost green innovation.”
Background
The Tripartite Social Summit takes place twice a year ahead of European Council meetings. It is co-chaired by the Presidents of the European Council and the Commission and attended by the Head of State or Government representing the Presidency of the Council of the EU. It is an opportunity for a constructive exchange of views between the leaders of the European institutions, the leaders of European social partners, and national employee and employer organisations of the current and upcoming Presidency countries (Spain, Belgium and Hungary), as well as the Employment and Social Affairs Ministers of these Presidency countries.
The views cited in this text are those of the individual / organisation concerned and do not collectively constitute the point of view of the European Commission.