Yolanda Díaz and Belgian Deputy Prime Minister back a working group to promote the draft European Minimum Wage Directive

The Minister for Work and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, met by video-conference with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy and Employment of the Government of Belgium, Pierre-Yves Demargne.

On the agenda of this bilateral meeting, the two Ministers for Work addressed the draft European Union Minimum Wage Directive, the Action Plan of the European Pillar of Social Rights and discussed the measures adopted by their respective countries to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly as regards teleworking.

EU Minimum Wage

The Minister for Work and Social Economy stated that a directive that regulates the minimum wage in the EU is necessary on grounds of social justice - an adequate minimum wage as part of the European social model to allow the rights of workers to be protected and to fight poverty and inequality.

Action Plan of the European Pillar of Rights Social

The Ministers for Work of Spain and Belgium agreed on the importance of developing the European Pillar of Social Rights with special emphasis on quality jobs, equality and the future of young people.

This is a particularly important aspect since, in the coming days, the European Commission plans to approve the Action Plan of the European Pillar of Social Rights. Making progress on its application, both in the EU and in Spain, is a political priority for the Government of Spain, which is even more important and pressing due to the health, economic and social crisis stemming from COVID-19.

They also agreed on the need to have a plan that includes specific actions and proposes legal instruments that imply greater convergence and a genuine transformation of the social reality.

Rotating Presidencies of the European Union

The two ministers agreed on the importance of strong ties between the technical teams of their two countries with a view to starting to work together soon, with good communication in the preparation of the Trio of Presidencies that both Member States will form part of in 2023 and 2024.

They agree on their vision of issues that may be addressed, which will be worked on in areas that help plan their distribution according to the different Rotating Presidencies, taking into account shared priorities and points of view that Spain and Belgium agree on.

Non official translation