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"In view of the tragic events in January this year in Paris one more priority was added to the priorities of the Latvian Presidency – security of Europe. I am convinced that all the fundamental rights and values should be preserved, and we will be able to do it only if we more than ever listen to each other, if the governments listen to social partners and civil society, if social and cooperation partners listen to the calls of governments. In the absence of mutual cooperation and listening, only collisions may occur," said the Prime Minister Straujuma.
The Prime Minister appreciated the role of the Committee in uniting the social partners and representatives of various interest groups of organized civil society in a single institution, which contributes to improvement the quality of life of citizens of the European Union.
“Close cooperation with social partners is invaluable support for the implementation of initiatives important for each European,” speaking at the meeting pointed out Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, the Parliamentary State Secretary for EU Affairs at the Foreign Ministry.
“As the Presidency, we highly appreciate the agreement between trade unions and employers on recommendations regarding the role of social dialogue adopted yesterday (31 March) at the Social Partners’ Forum,” said Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica.
She also mentioned that representatives from social partner organisations are invited to take part in the political debate together with the Member States’ delegations on the strengthening of social dialogue at the informal meeting of EU Ministers for Employment to be held on 21-22 April in Riga. Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica also confirmed that close cooperation in order to reinforce the social dialogue will continue with the upcoming presidencies of Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
"The economic crisis has torn us apart: if solidarity and socio-economic cohesion are not high on the agenda, the danger for Europe is now to dislocate," in his opening speech at the meeting in Riga said Georges Dassis, the President of the EESC Workers’ Group. “We have welcomed the strategic investment plan of the Commission’s President but I believe that Europe can do more. If enough money was raised to save banks, enough investments can be found to create sustainable jobs and to support our economies.”
Screening the priorities of the Latvian Presidency, EESC Members advocated to step up the efforts in the fight against climate change and the energy switch and expressed their concerns over the delays on the EU maternity leave directive, recalling the recent EESC Workers’ Group declaration supporting the rapid adoption of the proposal.
The extraordinary meeting also tackled the involvement of social partners in the EU’s economic governance. Raita Karnīte, the Director of the Economic Prognosis Centre of Latvia ("EPC" Ltd.), presented two studies: they show that if social partners in general - and trade unions in particular – are mentioned in all policy documents may it be on the Europe 2020 strategy or on the EU economic governance, they are pretty much absent when it comes to results and implementation. She also underlined the need for trade unions to focus on the new aspects of the labour market, including SMEs, reaching out to more workers and ultimately changing perception of trade unions so that the trade unions would take up the role of promoters of growth in employment.
The EESC is a representative of the civil society in the EU, which offers opinions on EU-related subjects and consultations for the European Parliament, the EU Council, and the European Commission in the decision-making process by providing opinions on the proposed EU legislation. The Employers’ Group brings together the representatives of more than 80 trade union organisations in EU Member States.
