Brussels, 03/09/2009
“Now we need a New EU Social Deal comprising
- more investment in an expanded European recovery plan. The Commission’s own proposals were a useful, modest step but the key is to co-ordinate a bigger programme and not focus, prematurely, on strategies to exit from the recession. We are not at the bottom yet and we may not be near it.
- more effective EU financial regulation of financial institutions, including banks, private equity and hedge funds. “Never again” must the Western economies be damaged by greed and speculation as has been done to cause this recession.
- action to strengthen workers’ and union rights by adopting a Social Progress Protocol and a revised Posting Directive to correct the recent European Court of Justice (ECJ ) judgments (Laval, Viking, Rüffert, Luxemburg). This is crucial to restore our fundamental rights on free movement of labour and services.
- drawing on the lessons of the European Coal and Steel Community, establish a body to oversee the restructuring of the automotive industries, given the importance to economies and employment.
{We also want European leadership towards a European social union with more co-ordination on fiscal policy; a fair deal on working time; better protection for the precariously employed; a new European industrial strategy; a rapid and fair transition towards a low carbon economy and energetic EU leadership at the Copenhagen conference; a new emphasis on equality; and respect for public services.
We will be pressing these points on the President and also cross examining all candidates for Commission office}”.