September plenary session debates

The September plenary session welcomed the following guests:

  • Klára Dobrev, Vice President of the European Parliament, for a debate on the priorities of the EP.
  • Emily O'Reilly, European Ombudsman, for a presentation of the activities of the European Ombudsman.
  • Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission, Tuomas Saarenheimo, Permanent Under-Secretary for International and Financial Market Affairs, Christian Ebeke, IMF Acting Resident Representative to the European Union, and Louka Katseli, former Minister for Economy and Labour in Greece, for a debate on the Economic and Monetary Union and the European Semester.

For the Workers' Group, key issues included the need to strengthen cooperation between the EESC and the EP in order to better push for the social and climate goals which both institutions shared, the introduction of a European minimum wage, strengthening and implementing the EPSR, limiting the influence of lobbyists in EU policy making and addressing the weaknesses of the European semester by incorporating social concerns.

Debates

The first plenary session after the summer break began with a speech by Klára Dobrev, one of the newly elected vice-presidents of the European Parliament. The Hungarian MEP made clear that she expected the Commission to work towards an EU unemployment reinsurance scheme, the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and on fair minimum wages. Ms Dobrev also highlighted the need for a good cooperation between the EESC and the EP in drafting social and economic policies.

Workers' Group President Oliver Röpke emphasised the shared goals of the two institutions: Both aimed at a green and social Europe that respects the rule of law. While member states and social partners also needed to deliver, EU legislation played a crucial role in achieving political goals, such as a European minimum wage.

János Weltner asked for a common engagement of the EP and the EESC in the domain of health, as this aspect was not yet part of the European Pillar of Social Rights. It is not possible to treat social care, health care and economic development separately, János said.

One of the future EP's tasks should be to get to work on the Social Pillar, said Jacques Lemercier. It is up to you and to the president that discussions take place! He also underlined the importance of a strong, binding EU legislation for social policy.

Judy McKnight concluded by mentioning that Brexit was a crucial challenge for EU decision makers. She asked the EP president to give the UK "breathing space" to make sure that a no deal Brexit would not happen and a that good outcome for citizens would be guaranteed.

As a second guest of the session, the European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly took the floor. Looking back at her previous work, she highlighted that fighting maladministration and increasing transparency were key to fight Euroscepticism. As an independent investigator, she solved individual cases, but also addressed fundamental questions of EU policy making, such as limiting the influence of lobbyists and making the Eurogroup and the Council's processes more explicit.

Oliver Röpke followed up on Ms O'Reilly's keynote: He expressed his recognition for the Ombudsman's work, which he named inevitable in times of Euroscepticism. He also made clear that the members of the EESC shared O'Reilly's commitment towards transparency: As the opposite of an uncoordinated lobby jungle, the EESC reconciled interests in a balanced, democratic way, he said.

Franca Salis-Madinier referred to the exemplary function of the EESC as a European institution. The EESC has developed its own code of conduct and shown how to use it and has therefore reacted to the fact that cases of abuse can happen in any workplace, she said.

Christian Bäumler pointed out the democratic aspect of Ms O'Reilly's work: People wanted to know what the EU does, and how responsibilities were split between the EU institutions and member states. He also underlined the EESC's role as a learning institution in the field of transparency, and upheld the new code of conduct as an important step towards transparency.

The second day of the plenary began with a rich debate on economic and social policies at the EU level, the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the European semester. Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission, launched the discussion. He underlined that the social partners had gained a significant role in the European Semester: The semester now followed a more holistic approach with a clear link between investment and reform priorities. He also hoped to cooperate with the EESC for further implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights.

Three other guest speakers contributed to the discussion: Tuomas Saarenheimo from the Finnish Ministry of Finance, Christian Ebeke, from the IMF Europe Office, and Louka Katseli, former Greek Minister for the Economy and Labour. While Mr Saarenheimo and Mr Ebeke underlined the importance of deepening the capital market union and the EMU, Ms Katseli particularly focused on a roadmap for sustainable economic development.

In her statement, Anne Demelenne identified a need for more flexibility for investments in the EU to be closer to the social reality on the ground. This also included countries with deficits in their current account.

Javier Doz Orrit acknowledged the achievements of the previous Commission in the field of economic governance. However, he criticised a lack of decisiveness in the European Council, who showed a discrepancy between "discourse and political direction" when it came to economic governance. This needed to change to effectively combat tax havens and money laundering.

Petru Sorin Dandea pointed at persisting weaknesses of the European semester. He criticised the fact that the Commission did not have effective instruments to act when member states refuse to implement specific recommendations. This was especially true for social dialogue and collective bargaining.

Judith Vorbach highlighted that, on the one hand, the Social Pillar should focus on increasing purchasing power and consumer demand. On the other hand, solid budgetary policy was not solely about a cautious expenditure, but also about a cautious revenue policy: Fighting tax evasion and corruption was a key priority in that regard.

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