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Industrial Relations and Social Dialogue in the EMCEF
Balatongyörök, April 29, 2006 |
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How we see the European Integration
- Integration process will continue
- Despite the enlargement in 2007 and further agreements of association, as lot more of issues will be decided upon at European level
- This refers mainly to issues on the Lisbon list and will continue beyond 2010
Who will decide?
- Due to the results of the Nice Summit, the role of the Parliament will be considerably increase after enlargement – Consultation procedure
- European regulations will be decided upon in an increasingly European sense – principle of majority rule and role of the Council
- EU Commission has gained in quality again – mainly due to the new EU member countries
Industrial Policy
- Focussing on services has been dominant for long – greater emphasis on industrial issues only since 2004
- Recognizing importance of industrial development for reaching Lisbon aims
- Integration of other issues into industrial policy
In Detail
- EU-Commission initiatives on horizontal issues – general and specific conditions
- Further branch-related initiatives with specific programmes
- Strengthening industrial branches not by subsidies, but other measures of support
- Several EMCEF branches are among the
Further Initiatives
- Better regulation – better legislation
- Dominance of environmental action programmes over industrial policy decreases
- European market of services shall also support industrial development – Directive is on the agenda
Energy Policy
- Larger role of the EU – coordination of national policies
- Focus is on ensuring energy supply
- Debate on energy resources will gain in importance in the years to come – including our own reserves, new technologies and economizing on energy
Present Situation
- Wave of mergers – driving forces are great capital requirements as well as developments in other countries
- National concepts have no future
- Energy companies will continue to play an important role in the development of society and in social affairs
Social Regulations
- Since establishing the Single Market, the social dimension of the integration process has been missing – the „European Social Model“ cannot replace it
- Debates on the Services Directive and the Constitution have explosive effects
- Social dialogues can play a role here by benefiting from the social partners’ competencies
Social Dialogues
- Delor’s concept was to close the gap in terms of social issues – today, however, it could comprise even more
- Till now only a few results: 32 branch dialogues and UNICE/ETUC with considerable differences in quality – large industrial branches are missing
- Improving quality and topics is necessary – we are working on it
Opportunities
- Improving mutual recognition
- Consultations on all issues relating to the industrial branches are possible – it is important to consult at all levels
- External expertise should increasingly be used
- Same refers to other EU programmes
Topics
- Qualification gains in importance due to demographic changes
- Industrial safety is very cost-intensive
- Topics relating to industrial policies have to be put on the agenda
- Other topics will come: Legal framework for collective bargaining
The Role We Play
- Social dialogue presupposes different roles
- From the traditional as well as practical point of view there are different addressees in the EP and the EU Commission
- Reaching agreement on the topics can be used in the interest of the given branch and people
Thank you for your attention
Reinhard Reibsch,
General secretary of EMCEF
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