General assembly of the EPP Workers Group: Boosting employment

2011. 09. 19.

The EPP Workers' Group held its annual General Assembly in Malta this year, between 15-18th September.

With the notable exception of Malta, the financial crisis has left unemployment at a historic high across most of Europe. In Spain, the unemployment rate remains stubborn at one-fifth of the workforce And neither are Greece, Portugal and Ireland faring much better. The bright side of this regrettable context is that we can approach our work at the European level with the clarity of purpose that normally succumbs to competing demands. Few will doubt that the driving goal of our work and the work of the European Union and its member states, now and for the foreseeable future, should be to boost employment and return growth to Europe’s economy. It is with this sense of purpose and cognisance of the economic turmoil that Europe is currently navigating that the annual general assembly of the European People’s Party Workers Group will gather in Malta this week, at the start of the third year of the European Parliament’s current legislature. Established some 30 years ago, the EPP Workers Group is at the forefront of the party’s position on employment and social affairs, and therefore instrumental in charting Europe’s future growth strategy, promote job creation, modernise our educational systems, re-examine the sustainability of our welfare states, and take the sting out of the crisis for small businesses. Under the vice-presidency of MEP David Casa, the Workers Group, tasked with drawing up the EPP Group’s positions on employment and social affairs, has so far been successful in striking a balance between the prerogatives of business and the need for security of employment for workers. Underlying our work is the firm belief that economic growth is the cornerstone on which rests Europe’s unique economy: Market-driven but with a social conscience. And the EPP Group has always been a staunch supporter of social justice, placing people, not economic growth figures, at the top of our list of priorities. But neither have we lost sight of what allows people to make the most of their lives: A flourishing economy. Now, more than ever, during this protracted economic downturn, we aim to ensure that the sort of growth that returns to Europe will promote the kind of jobs that can give people fulfilling professional lives. We seek to do this by fostering an environment conducive to investment, innovation and entrepreneurship. But for people to take advantage of the opportunities offered by a knowledge economy, they need to have the right skills. That’s why we never stop stressing the need for life-long learning and why we continue to advocate for reforms in Europe’s myriad educational systems. Before the dust of the financial fall-out settles we need to piece together fundamental changes that will ensure that future growth is not based on consumption-binges, cheap loans and spendthrift governments. We need to ensure that the economic fundamentals underpinning the social goods that we depend on are based on competitiveness and real added value. We know what needs to be done. The competitiveness of modern economies are not based on inexpensive labour or natural resources, but on knowledge – on supplying services and producing goods with knowledge-intensive inputs. Of course, this requires investment in education and innovative research. But it also requires employment policies that are geared to keep pace with the shifting sands of the global economy and to carry the EU out of the crisis with stronger economic fundamentals than those with which it entered it. To do this EU countries need to work closely together, agreeing on objectives and policies which feed into each other. First and foremost, we need to ensure that Europe’s economy is properly integrated – in terms of its internal market and in terms of member states’ economic policies. On the first point, the EPP Workers Group has been pushing for the swift completion of the internal market in all sectors, but especially in services. Jobs in the service sector predominantly employ older workers, women, and immigrants – groups which currently face high levels of social exclusion through lack of employment opportunities. An employment-friendly agenda will therefore also work to enhance social cohesion, as previously marginalised segments of society are integrated into the workplace. On the need for better integration of economic policy in the Union, the EPP has been the political driving force in the European Parliament behind a stronger Economic Governance Package, where fiscal policy-making in the eurozone will be subjected to tougher constraints so as to avoid dangerous cracks opening up in Europe’s monetary system. The instability wrought on Europe’s economy by the divergences among eurozone countries has left us with a poor climate for investment and job creation. It serves as a costly reminder of how truly valuable stable economic governance is for the man in the street. The EPP Workers Group General Assembly in Malta, under the stewardship of my colleague, MEP David Casa, should serve as a timely space within which we can hammer out a programme of work at the start of the coming legislative year.

The author, Csaba Őry MEP is member of the Presidium of the EPP Workers' Group and he is the EPP Group coordinator of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee in the European Parliament.

(independent.com.mt)