Filenews 8 May 2021
A 12-point declaration accepting that the European Pillar of Social Rights is a fundamental element of recovery is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all, that no one is left behind, but also to fair wages, the fight against poverty and job creation, adopted by the 27 Heads of State or Government in Porto.
In detail, the 27 EU declarations they adopted state the following:
We underline the importance of European unity and solidarity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. These values have defined the response of European citizens to this crisis and are also at the heart of our common plan and our characteristic social model. More than ever, Europe must be the continent of social cohesion and prosperity. We reaffirm our commitment to work towards a social Europe.
1. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid, critical and integrated action at EU and national level has protected millions of lives, jobs and businesses.
2. The same spirit of unity and solidarity inspired our historic agreement in July 2020 on the Multiannual Financial Framework and the Special Recovery Effort under next Generation EU. As we accelerate green and digital transitions, this huge European investment and related reforms will put the Union and its Member States firmly on the path of reform towards a fair, sustainable and resilient recovery. Collective, inclusive, timely and coherent recovery will enhance Europe's competitiveness, resilience, social dimension and role on the world stage.
3. We welcome the high-level conference organised by the Portuguese Presidency at the Porto Summit and take into account its results. The European Pillar of Social Rights is a fundamental element of recovery. Its implementation will strengthen the Union's path towards a digital, green and fair transition and contribute to achieving upward social and economic convergence and addressing demographic challenges. The social dimension, social dialogue and active involvement of the social partners have always been at the heart of a very competitive social market economy. Our commitment to unity and solidarity also means ensuring equal opportunities for all and that no one is left behind.
4. As set out in the EU Strategic Agenda 2019-2024, we are determined to continue to deepen the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights at EU and national level, taking due account of the respective competences and principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. The action plan presented by the Commission on 4 March 2021 provides useful guidance on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, including in the areas of employment, skills, health and social protection.
5. We welcome the EU's new primary objectives for jobs, skills and poverty reduction and the revised Social Scoreboard proposed in the Action Plan to help monitor progress towards the implementation of the principles of the social pillar, taking into account different national circumstances, and as part of the policy coordination framework within the European Semester.
6. As Europe gradually recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, the priority will be to move from protection to job creation and improving the quality of work, where small and medium-sized enterprises (including social enterprises) play a key role. The application of the principles in the European Pillar of Social Rights will be necessary to ensure the creation of more and better jobs for all in the context of an inclusive recovery. In this respect, relevant legislative and non-legislative work should be promoted at EU and Member State level.
7. We will put education and skills at the heart of our political action. Green and digital transitions will bring huge opportunities for European citizens but also many challenges, which will require more investment in education, vocational training, lifelong learning, upgrading and redefinition, in order to encourage employment transitions to sectors where there is increasing demand for work. At the same time, changes linked to digitisation, artificial intelligence, teleworking and the platform economy will require special attention in order to strengthen workers' rights, social security systems and health and safety at work.
8. We are committed to reducing inequalities, defending fair wages, combating social exclusion and tackling poverty, achieving the objective of combating child poverty and tackling the risks of exclusion for particularly vulnerable social groups, such as the long-term unemployed, the elderly, people with disabilities and the homeless.
9. We will intensify efforts to combat discrimination and work actively to fill gender gaps in employment, pay and pensions, and to promote equality and justice for every person in our society, in line with the fundamental principles of the European Union and the European Pillar of Social Rights.
10. We will give priority to action to support young people who have been very negatively affected by the COVID-19 crisis, which has deeply disrupted their participation in the labour market as well as education and training projects. Young people represent an indispensable source of dynamism, talent and creativity for Europe. We must ensure that they become the driving force behind inclusive green and digital recovery to help build the Europe of the future, including using the full potential of Erasmus+ to promote mobility across Europe for all pupils and apprentices
11. We stress the importance of close monitoring, including the highest level, of the progress achieved in the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the EU's primary targets for 2030.
12. We welcome, as another success of the European social dialogue, that the European Social Partners have put forward a joint proposal for an alternative set of indicators to measure economic, social and environmental progress, complementing GDP as a welfare measure for inclusive and sustainable development.
RES-BE
