Social issues move to top of EU Presidency agenda

Ten years after the European Employment Strategy was launched, the Portuguese EU Presidency has declared jobs and social issues as its top priorities, as ministers gather for an informal summit in Guimarães.

Ministers meeting in the northern Portuguese town will hear their colleague, Employment and Social Solidarity Minister José Vieira da Silva, speak in favour of the social dimension of the Lisbon Strategy. Repeatedly, Portugal’s Social Democrat-led government has voiced its conviction: “Europe has to be much more than a mere open market.”

When the presidency presented its priorities at the end of June, Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Manuel Lobo Antunes pointed out that “unemployment is clearly the most common problem in European concerns”, adding that “the reinforcement of the social pillar of the Lisbon strategy gradually emerges as a priority, which we would like to push forward during our presidency”. 

On 5 July, the Portuguese Presidency, along with its German and Slovenian counterparts, will meet for almost two hours with the Social Platform, the alliance bringing together NGOs active in the social sector, before starting discussions for most of the afternoon with European social partners. On the next day, labour and social-affairs ministers will discuss matters of concern to the Portuguese Presidency: 

• Social Responsibility, including the fight against poverty, is going to be stressed as an EU objective. Portugal’s government consider it to have a major influence on “the perceptions that our citizens have of EU institutions”. This also includes the fight for gender equality.
• Employment and Immigration: Portugal has already announced discussions on a more “realistic” approach to legal migration to help solve Europe’s looming job-shortage crisis (see EURACTIV, 7 June 2007).
• Flexicurity and the European Employment Strategy. The Portuguese Presidency wishes to strengthen the integration of the European Social Model in the Lisbon Strategy. On the practical side, discussions will focus on the sustainability of social-protection services. 
• Qualification and employment of young people and senior citizens. The presidency acknowledges the importance of good skills to start with and life-long learning in order to compete on global markets.
• Work-life balance. Portugal will build on the ‘Family Alliance’ initiated by the German Presidency in order to facilitate the reconciliation of work and private life, especially for women, parents and those in charge of a disabled family member.
• Labour law, in particular health and safety at work and workers’ protection. The Portuguese Presidency is expected to give the ‘good work’ agenda a boost. 

Fintan Farrell, director of the European Anti-Poverty Network, said: “The agenda set for this informal Council provides the opportunity to reinforce existing processes in order to develop a more coherent and consistent EU social agenda.”

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