For the Socialists and Democrats, Porto has always been a symbol of the progressive fight for social justice. There have been many hiccups at the start of this social summit in Porto, and we have serious concerns about European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen's real willingness to deliver binding legislation on social issues. However, we remain committed to delivering on the European Pillar of Social Rights and, in particular, quality jobs, in the interest of European citizens.

That is why our MEP Estelle Ceulemans, S&D spokesperson on employment and social affairs, is in Porto to represent the European Parliament's committee on employment and social affairs, and to defend our progressive social priorities.

Gaby Bischoff, S&D vice-president for social Europe, said:

“The alarms are going off everywhere, all the time. Our social rights are under attack. Last week, Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech revealed a striking omission: not a single word about concrete initiatives for a strong social Europe.

“Last year, adopting the La Hulpe declaration was difficult, but the Belgian Presidency under social democratic lead pushed until the end to secure concrete commitments. This time, there was no such leadership.

“But we will not give up. We will keep pushing for concrete next steps: reform of public procurement rules, including respect for collective agreements, legislation to regulate subcontractors, regulation of AI in the workplace and the right to disconnect, anti-poverty strategy and a strong Child Guarantee, strengthening the mandate of the European Labour Authority, and a framework for restructuring, focusing on a just transition and stronger worker participation.”

Estelle Ceulemans, S&D spokesperson on employment and social affairs, added:

“We are here in Porto to defend our social rights. Quality jobs in a social Europe – that is at the heart of the solutions for today's socio-economic and democratic challenges.

“In addition to employment levels, adult participation in training, and poverty reduction, we have always considered quality jobs as one of the missing links for the implementation of all the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights.

“From this perspective, we should add the promotion of quality jobs as the fourth headline target in the Pillar. For that, we need carefully designed quality criteria, encouraging the creation of quality jobs in all sectors. AI in the workplace, the right to disconnect, psychosocial risks at work, and proper work-life balance are all important features of quality jobs – and it is essential to have binding regulations in this area.”

Note to editors:

In Gothenburg in 2017, our political family delivered the European Pillar of Social Rights.

Four years later, the Porto Social Summit adopted an action plan with concrete targets for 2030: at least 78% employment in the EU, at least 60% of adults in training every year, and reducing the number of people at risk of social exclusion or poverty by at least 15 million, including five million children.

But this is not enough. We are calling for more targets: quality jobs, at least 80% collective bargaining coverage by 2030, zero deaths at work, and the eradication of homelessness by 2030.

In April 2024 in La Hulpe, we secured a renewed commitment to a social Europe with a new inter-institutional declaration on the future of the European social model. The European Parliament, the European Commission, the Belgian Presidency, the European Trade Union Confederation, SME United, and SGI Europe endorsed it.