ETUC General Secretary speech at European Council on jobs and growth

ETUC General Secretary speech

European Council in Brussels

27 June 2013

The following speech was given by ETUC General Secretary Bernadette Segol at the European Council meeting in Brussels on 27 June 2013.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today.

It's an honour and a signal of recognition for the ETUC; we fully appreciate this.

I have met a number of you recently to prepare this important Summit.

It seems to me that, yes, we have common concerns:

European economies are trailing behind, growth is very weak, some countries are in recession;

The EU's share of world markets is falling. Others are growing. We stagnate;

Real wages are falling; standards of living are falling; poverty and inequalities are rising. Households are not spending: they are frightened.

Unemployment rises each month.

A year ago already, in the context of a very tense social and economic context, you announced an employment and growth pact and a social dimension roadmap. We played the game.

We made proposals to get out of the rut. We called for an EU social compact and put forward ideas for a social dimension.

A new recovery plan for Europe is at the heart of our demands.

Documents I have seen show that the Council intends to discuss a recovery plan and to renew the growth pact. Those intentions go in the right direction.

However, talking about a new investment plan for Europe; talking about engaging in the growth and employment plan isn't enough. What lies behind the words? What do you propose concretely to change things in reality?

Structural reforms do not constitute a recovery plan. It's exactly the opposite in a number of countries.

A compromise has been reached on the EU budget. This budget, it seems, will constitute 'the growth fund for Europe'. One might hope so, but this budget really isn't enough. And what about the European Social Fund? It should be guaranteed at least 25% of the structural funds for it to be significant in helping recovery.

Youth unemployment is one of your main concerns today. We fully share this priority.

The social partners have contributed with the Framework for Youth Employment. The Commission Communication fully reflects this agreement between employers and unions; this is good, but it doesn't exonerate the Council from taking its own responsibilities.

To deal with this calamity, resources are needed; only a real recovery plan and a change in economic policies can fundamentally deal with this problem. I doubt that the financing proposed will meet the expectations.

President, where is the social dimension roadmap announced last December? It seems to have been postponed indefinitely. The Council must not mislead by announcing a social roadmap and, then a few months later, bury away its promises. Media announcements not backed by further action are extremely harmful; the trust invested in you is not a secondary consideration, it is essential.

So, please eschew misleading advertising. I would draw your attention to Directive 2006/114/CE of 12 December 2006!

Under current policies, imbalances in the European labour market are increasingly apparent. These imbalances must be closely monitored if we want to achieve upwards convergence. We need actionable indicators, on inequality, on poverty. If those indicators turn red, we must change the policies that cause the negative results.

Despite our protests, despite people mobilising on the streets, I must unfortunately recognise that we have not - not yet- been able to get our message through.

So, if you won't listen to our proposals, may I ask you a few questions:

What do you intend to do -and I mean do, not just talk about - getting our countries and the citizens who elected you out of the hole we are in? Deregulation and austerity have failed. What will you do to put our economies back on track?

We welcome the interest you are showing towards European industrial policy. But what are you proposing? What do you intend to do with the European Parliament's proposals on restructuring?

What do you intend to do to stop downward competition on wages, on taxation, on working conditions?

What do you intend to do so that the European trade union can, unwaveringly, continue to defend the European project?

And then, what is your message to European citizens who will be voting next May? What is your programme? How can you win their trust that you can change things for the better?

I will end in expressing our serious concern, which I know many of you share.

There is in our countries a widespread and very worrying feeling that democratically elected politicians are not strong enough or determined enough to get us out of this dead-end and lead us to a better future. This leads inexorably to bitter disillusion towards the worth of the European project. Populist parties on all sides take, and will take, advantage of this in many countries. I leave it to you to list them.

In the better-off countries, frightened by such simplistic rants, there is an inclination to dissociate and aim for 'less Europe'. That isn't the solution either.

We want our political leaders to meet the challenges. We want to be able to trust them. Today the ball is in your court.

This is an unofficial translation from the original French, with thanks to Tom Jenkins.