La Hulpe Declaration
A competitive Europe must show solidarity!
VS – 04/2024
Together
with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the
President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, as well as the social
partners and many other stakeholders from civil society, the Belgian Council
Presidency has laid down guidelines for the further development of the European
Pillar of Social Rights. The La
Hulpe Declaration is an important input for the prioritisation of the
future European Commission and outlines the way in which an internally
consolidated Europe can externally act confidently and competitively.
Ways to master current and future challenges
The
two-day conference of the Belgian Council Presidency was concluded with the La
Hulpe Declaration. Social partners as well as stakeholders from science and
politics discussed possible ways of mastering current and future social and
labour market policy challenges and jointly achieving the goals agreed in
Porto. The role of the social partners as an essential pillar of democracy in
Europe and the need to strengthen collective bargaining were emphasised.
Further development of the European Semester and inclusion of social investment
were also called for. After all, an efficient and forward-looking labour and
social policy requires adapted governance structures within the EU.
The "European way of life"
The
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, emphasised that the
European way of life is based on fairness, competitiveness and a social market
economy. Europe is synonymous with a long history of social progress,
convergence and social dialogue. This makes Europe unique. Together with the
President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, she emphasised that
since the adoption of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the social
dimension has been at the centre of common European policy.
Fair cross-border mobility
At
the conference, German Labour and Social Affairs Minister Heil reminded the
audience that employee mobility is one of the key achievements of the European
Union (EU). This mobility requires "fair conditions". Nobody should
be deprived of their rights. Heil therefore believes that advisory services and
contact points for mobile workers must be created, preferably organised via the
trade unions.
Participatory democracy
At
the conference, it was emphasised several times that employees need to be more
involved in the decision-making processes of companies. This is the only way to
find joint solutions to the many current and future challenges in the world of
work. However, everyone would benefit from such solutions; employers, employees
and society as a whole. The Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for
Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz Pérez, emphasised the goal that social
Europe must be defined by social rights. This applies to the active involvement
of employees, for example by setting minimum standards for co-determination.
This may seem unattainable today. But both Díaz and Heil referred to the
minimum wage directive. At first, this also seemed like a distant utopia.
Not everyone is on board
In
Gothenburg in 2017, all Member states, the European Parliament, the European
Commission and the social partners signed the proclamation of the European
Pillar of Social Rights. The La Hulpe Declaration has also garnered broad
support. However, Sweden and Austria did not sign in the end. In Austria, the
Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP)-led Ministry of Economics and Labour was opposed
to co-signing. In Sweden, the governing alliance of conservative Prime Minister
Ulf Kristersson is dependent on the support of the right-wing populist Sweden
Democrats. The European employers' organisation BusinessEurope - in contrast to
the European association of small and medium-sized enterprises SMEunited - has
also not co-signed the declaration. This is generally interpreted as a sign
that the employers want to increase the pressure on the next Commission in
favour of an industry-friendly policy.