Spain takes over the Council Presidency
A programme for social and economic justice.
AH – 09/2023
On 1 July, the Spanish government took over its now
fifth Council Presidency of the European Union (EU). In this context, the the "Europe Closer" programme with its four main priorities was presented. Due to the Spanish snap
elections, the debate in the Committee on Employment and
Social Affairs of the European Parliament of the European Parliament could only take place on 7 September.
The Spanish government was represented by José
Luis Escrivá, Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, and Yolada
Diaz, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Economy.
They presented the programme of their country. Overall, the Spanish Council Presidency aims
at an inclusive as well as sustainable Europe. The aim is to promote purchasing
power and eliminate inequalities in the social sphere. The right to decent work
and the promotion of medium-term growth potential are sought.
European policy priorities
The Spanish Council Presidency sets four
priorities:
- Re-industrialisation
of the European Union and modernisation of the economy
- Further implementation of the green transition
- Promoting
social and economic justice
- Strengthening
European unity
What does that mean in detail?
A few examples will show what this specifically
means. Workers - also from third countries - should enjoy a high level of
social protection. The focus should be on strengthening the rights of people in
precarious work situations. For example, they are to be given co-determination
rights with regard to their workplace as well as further information rights.
With regard to the further development of
occupational health and safety, issues such as stress and anxiety disorders are
to be addressed, among others. But there are also new occupational risks, such
as the heat caused by climate change.
In
addition, questions on the compulsory insurance of self-employed persons, on
activities on digital platforms as well as on the promotion of women's and youth
work are on the agenda. Open questions on the subject of cross-border commuters
are to be clarified in stages.
The promotion of economic justice is to be
achieved by strengthening national control and fraud systems. Here, the demand
for guidelines for combating abuse on the labour market (also with regard to
bogus self-employment) and tax evasion is understandable. Intra-European work
should reach a higher quality in order to make the labour market attractive for
international skilled workers and to retain existing skilled staff.
Social investment – what is it?
At the Informal Council in Madrid on 14 July,
the Social Affairs Ministers discussed the Spanish-Belgian proposal on social
investment for the first time and agreed on the further development of the
issue in a joint working group. The background to the proposal is that
expenditure for social investments should no longer be taken into account
within the framework of the European deficit procedure. For this to be
feasible, the European Commission and the relevant committees of the Member
States need to work on the definition and operationalisation of social investment.
The working group intends to present results for an analytical framework by
November.