European Trade Union Committee for Education

"Investing in growth and creating jobs: stepping up the contribution of the social partners" was the promising theme of the tripartite social summit which took place in the morning of 19 March 2015 just before the start of the European Council spring meeting 2015. It was the first Tripartite Social Summit within the mandate of the Juncker-Commission. It also came just shortly after the High Level Conference on social dialogue which the European Commission (EC) hosted in order to discuss the eagerly awaited so-called new start of social dialogue.

The High Level Conference was attended by ETUCE President Christine Blower who at present also chairs the ETUCE delegation in the European Sectoral Social Dialogue in Education (ESSDE). At that conference, the EC had raised high expectations for a stronger future involvement of the social partners in EU policy making on economic growth and employment creation. The Tripartite Social Summit was the first milestone test to find out whether these expectations could be met.

The summit gathered the European cross-sectoral social partners, the Presidents of the EC and the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk, as well as the European Commissioners Valdis Dombrovskis and Marianne Thyssen and Ministers from several EU member states. The participants talked amongst others about the economic and social development in Europe and the analysis made in the country reports which the EC published in February 2015. Within this context they discussed the remaining problem of high unemployment in many European countries and possible ways for more effective job creation. Further topics on the agenda were the new Investment Plan for Europe as well as the future development of the European Semester and the national reform programmes.

At the press conference following the summit, Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue Dombrovskis emphasized again the importance of a stronger role of social partners in the economic recovery process. He stated: "..We also have invited member states to include in their national reform programmes the detailed information on how they have involved social partners and took their views into account. I am confident that during this year's European Semester, viewpoints from the social partners will make a significant contribution to the substance of the discussion and will be reflected in a better and more balanced country specific recommendation". The follow-up on the proposals arising from the High Level Conference will also be on the agenda of the social partners in the ESSDE. ETUCE will continue to report about the future course of the strengthened social dialogue at European level.

For more detailed information on the press conference click here.