Yolanda Díaz: "With the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU we have contributed to a more social Europe"

Brussels (Belgium)

The vice president explained that this measure is an important step towards strengthening the rights of workers by involving them in important company decisions, and towards considering the impact that the necessary green transition and the decarbonisation of the economy will have and is having on employment.

"We must connect social dialogue with the realities of our time, especially the climate crisis. Greening collective bargaining is essential for the transition to be truly fair", insisted Díaz, who also recalled her department's contribution to making Europe more social and helping to reduce inequalities with the proposals that have been put forward during this six-month period.

In addition to putting social dialogue at the centre of European debates, the vice-president reviewed the other measures adopted since Spain took over the presidency of the Council of the EU in July:

• Together with the Commission and the social partners, the signing of the Barcelona Tripartite Declaration on the European Year of Skills.
• The adoption of the Council Decision authorising member countries to ratify ILO Convention 190 on violence and harassment at work.
• The adoption of the first Council Conclusions on mental health and precarious work.
• The adoption of the Council Recommendation on a framework for the development of the social economy, the EU's first legislative text on this business model.
• For the first time in the Council, the address of the environmental dimension in collective bargaining, and the adoption of Conclusions on democracy at work and green collective bargaining.

As the vice-president pointed out, in addition to the above the Social Convergence Framework has been included in the European Semester since this autumn, at the request of Belgium and Spain. This is an essential mechanism for giving the EU's policies a more social dimension, which will help make the European Pillar of Social Rights a reality. "Europe is more social than it was five months ago. We need an active Spain for a more social Europe", said Díaz.

In the discussion with his European labour counterparts, Díaz discussed how to move towards a European framework for the protection of workers in the event of individual dismissals, and how to bring European legislation on collective redundancies in line with the objectives of safeguarding employment in the context of the new challenges of digitalisation and the transition to a green economy.

Díaz is also meeting with the Romanian Minister for Labour and Social Solidarity, Simona Bucura-Oprescu, with the aim of further strengthening relations between the two countries and advancing coordinated positions within the EU.

At the end of the year, Belgium will take over Spain's presidency of the Council of the EU. "With the measures we have promoted since the Spanish presidency, we have undoubtedly contributed to a more social Europe. We are going to continue working in this direction, because this is the Europe we want to be part of, the Europe that seeks to put an end to inequalities," Díaz concluded.

Non official translation