Today’s Employment and Social Policy Council meeting, chaired by Minister Janez Cigler Kralj, focused on health and safety, and the future of the European Semester.
In the afternoon part of the meeting on health and safety at the heart of the future of work, the ministers discussed the importance and relevance of health and safety at work in a changing world of work, focusing on the challenges related to achieving the key objectives of the new EU strategic framework on health and safety at work. They agreed on the need to step up action at EU and national levels to strengthen health and safety at work for all in the labour market.
The new EU strategic framework on health and safety at work will contribute to adapting OSH standards to the demands of a changing world of work and to more sustainable work for all. Ensuring sustainable work is key to an economy that works for the people. – Janez Cigler KraljMinister for Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
Sustainable work throughout the life course of an individual is one of the main priorities of the Slovenian Presidency relating to employment, social affairs and equal opportunities and constitutes a possibility for meeting demographic challenges more successfully.
The ministers also held an extensive debate on the future of the European Semester. Throughout this process, member states coordinate their economic, employment and social policies in the EU. The process, which has been temporarily adapted due to the pandemic and the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, currently includes only fiscal aspects. The ministers took a clear position that future economic measures and reforms must also consistently take social aspects into account. “The European Semester must not neglect the European Pillar of Social Rights,” concluded Minister Cigler Kralj.
Tackling the demographic challenges of an ageing population is essential for the functioning of labour markets and social protection systems, as the European Commission underlines in its Green Paper on ageing. The question of whether systems are adequately adapted to this issue was at the heart of the discussion during the working lunch. The ministers agreed on the need for adaptation to ensure the fiscal sustainability of social protection systems and the adequacy of benefits and services for all. As this area falls within the competence of member states, they see the role of the EU as lying mainly in promoting the exchange of best practice in this area.
The ministers adopted the Council conclusions on gender mainstreaming in the EU budget. In its conclusions, the Council took note of the various recommendations of the European Court of Auditors, which set out concrete ways to achieve this aspiration. In this context, the Council, in cooperation with the member states, calls on the Commission to take gender mainstreaming into account in a consistent and systematic way when preparing the EU budget in the future.
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