At the Macroeconomic Dialogue at Political Level organized by the European Council, CEEP General Secretary Valeria Ronzitti presented public services employers’ plan to relaunch the EU economy. Three main priorities should be tackled:

1) Negotiated structural reforms
“For social partners, being fully involved in the EU economic governance and the European Semester to foster ownership of the reform process remains a priority. But a lot still needs to be done at national level. If social partners are not an integral part of the definition of the reforms and of their implementation, the exercise could become meaningless. We really welcome the increased involvement of the European social partners in the European Semester, but a lot still needs to be done at national level.”

2) A comprehensive approach to investment
“There is a persistent reluctance to see investments in social infrastructures – healthcare and education – as a real engine for growth. However, the “political climate” seems to be favourable for a change in the mind-set, with the Netherlands Presidency acknowledging modern and high quality education as indispensable for a strong economy, and the Commission establishing a Social Impact Fund and setting up payment-by-results schemes to scale up the provision of social services. CEEP is also committed to taking part in the efforts to change the mind-set towards those sectors with a very high investment potential.”

3) An encompassing competitiveness policy
“I will conclude by addressing a clear recommendation to the Netherlands’ Presidency knowing that the Council will start considering the establishment of National Competitiveness Boards during this semester: the definition of competitiveness needs to clearly include high quality public services. Missing this point would undermine our ability to reinforce Europe’s growth potential.”

For further information, please contact:

Maxime STAELENS, Communication Officer
Email: maxime.staelens@ceep.eu
Tel.: + 32(0) 2 229 21 40

To subscribe to our newsletter, please follow this link.
 

CEEP, European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services, is one of the three general cross-sectoral European Social Partners. It gathers public and private providers of services of general interest from across Europe. CEEP members contribute to more than 26% of EU GDP and employ 30% of the EU workforce.