Debate: Action Plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, in preparation of the Social Summit in Porto in May
Date: WEDNESDAY, 10 MARCH 2021
Speaker: Nicolas Schmit
Language: EN

Let me be very clear. We have formulated new headline targets for 2030, but our action to reach them must start now, and indeed it has already started.  It must be joint action by all from those who bear concrete responsibilities at all levels: the European Parliament, obviously, the national parliaments, national governments, regional and local authorities, social partners and civil society actors.  First of all, we want to achieve an employment rate of 78% – as I’ve already said – in 2030. So there is a need to support the creation of more and better jobs. Here I have to be very clear. We have done a lot to preserve jobs, to keep people in jobs, but we have done a lot also to preserve companies, especially a lot of SMEs. And we have to do a lot to create new companies, new industries in Europe, and that’s also a very strong dimension of this Commission’s policies.  Work for jobs is why we put forward the Commission recommendation on effective active support for employment. It sets out guidance on investing in people and easing job—to—job transitions for those who are at risk of redundancy or are already unemployed. We also need to pursue our efforts to support young people. They are particularly vulnerable to this crisis. They are suffering a lot. They have lost their precarious jobs – if they had one. Therefore, better jobs, more secure jobs, highly productive and skilled jobs. This is what we are aiming at for our young, because it cannot be that with a recovery, the only prospects that we are offering them is again precarious jobs that they may lose from one day to another. The idea, this wrong alternative, that of better any job than no job, is a false alternative. What we have to do is really work on good jobs, investing in people. Beyond the recovery effort, it is essential to support the participation of women in the labour market. We need to at least halve the employment gap, promote access to early childhood education and care, and further promote the work—life balance.  Better jobs mean striving for better working conditions. We have already proposed ambitious legislation on adequate minimum wages. Two weeks ago, the Commission launched a consultation of EU social partners on decent working conditions and social protection for people working through platforms.  A major priority must concern skills and equality. If we are talking about effective labour market policies, we cannot emphasise enough the importance of skills for jobs. At least 60% of adults should participate in training every year by 2030. Skills empower people to adapt to change and skills are an ever more important source of our global competitiveness. The different actions and our European skills agenda are crucial to this end, and we will only successfully manage the green transition and the digital change transformation if we invest a lot in skills – and not just in the skills of those who are already skilled, but also in those who have lower skills, giving them better opportunities on the labour market. We must advance gender equality and equal opportunities for all, with a particular focus on youth. Last week’s proposal for a directive on binding pay transparency and enforcement measures and a new disability rights strategy are crucial.  ( ( That’s great. That’s really great. Thank you very much. Lastly, I want to emphasise the fight against rising inequality and poverty. This stands at the heart of the action plan. We want the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion to be reduced by at least, I insist, at least, 15 million. The fight against poverty requires stronger safety nets for those in need and robust social protection systems.  Later this month, we will table the long—anticipated proposal for a European child guarantee, which was born here in this Parliament. We will also launch a European platform on combating homelessness, and next year we will come forward with a Council recommendation on minimum income. I agree social investments are key and, particularly in this recovery, we have to build a more resilient society and therefore we have to mobilise European funds and support social enterprises by proposing a social economy action plan.  Dear President, honourable Members, we can only achieve our ambitions for a green and digital transition by covering also the social dimension. Social progress has to be embedded in our recovery strategy and to become a driving principle of our post—COVID European agenda.  That is what’s at stake in Porto – an economy that works for all people. That’s what we are aiming at.