Informele Raad: sociale EU-doelstellingen zijn banen, flexibiliteit en zekerheid (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Oostenrijks Voorzitterschap Europese Unie 1e helft 2006, gepubliceerd op donderdag 19 januari 2006.

Greater involvement of social partners at EU level

Villach - "A high degree of consensus was in evidence at today's meeting. We agree on the objectives for a social Europe. These are:

  • - 
    growth and jobs, and
  • - 
    flexibility through security.

We did not only agree on the objectives, however, but also on the way to achieve them", Economics and Labour Minister Martin Bartenstein stated in Villach today, Thursday, following the meeting of the EU troika (Austria, Finland, Germany) with European social partners and the Social Platform at the Informal Meeting of Employment and Social Affairs Ministers. He had invited the European social partners to a meeting on 9 March in the run-up to the Council meeting on 10 and 13 March, Bartenstein continued, stressing the importance of including the European social partners in decision-making at the European level. The response to this invitation had been very positive, according to the minister. Including employee and employer organisations would increase the chances of making progress, for example on the Services Directive and the Working Time Directive.

Bartenstein specifically acknowledged the "frank and good discussion" with the representatives of the NGOs and the social partners. Now it was time to seize the opportunity to make progress together on the general theme of the Villach meeting , namely "flexibility through security". There had also been positive signals from Commissioner Vladimir Spidla on behalf of the European Commission, Bartenstein said.

Bartenstein was optimistic that the Employment and Social Affairs Council and the Competitiveness Council in March would deliver tangible progress both for the Services Directive and the Working Time Directive. At the same time, it was also important to tackle the subject of working time of temporary workers, which were currently deadlocked.

Asked to give specific proposals on how to combine flexibility and security, Bartenstein mentioned the Austrian model of "new-look severance payments - employee provision scheme". Other options were the porting of company pension rights in "a rucksack" from one employer to another, or a combination of flexible working time and job security.

Contact: Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour

Office of the Minister: Dr. Ingrid Nemec - Tel.: (01) 711 00-5138

Press Department: Dr. Harald Hoyer - Tel.: (01) 711 00-5130

Meer over ...