The ETUC and industriAll Europe urgently call on the Commission to include mandatory conditionalities in the final state aid framework accompanying the Clean Industrial Deal (the so-called CISAF).
We firmly believe that EU industrial policy must foster both economic and social resilience, pursue green reindustrialisation targets and protect European strong social model and highly qualified workforce. The integration of mandatory social conditionality into public support, such as state aid schemes, must be a strong lever to achieving this.
“Public money cannot be treated as a blank cheque to corporations. It must deliver public good. That means decent wages, secure jobs, and respect for workers’ rights. Social conditionalities are not a bureaucratic add-on—they are the backbone of a fairer Europe. It’s time for EU institutions and national governments to match their words with binding action through social conditionalities,” said Esther Lynch, ETUC General Secretary.
“We are in the midst of an industrial crisis, and the EU finds itself at a crossroads and must make crucial decisions on how to protect and decarbonise its industry. In the current context of geopolitical tensions, trade war and strategic autonomy issues, the EU has no choice but to do everything in its power to avoid a lasting industrial decline”, stated Judith Kirton-Darling industriAll Europe General Secretary.
In this context, the Letta report made very detailed suggestions for how conditionalities in industrial and investment strategies could contribute to broader common public policy objectives.
In the draft state aids framework accompanying the Clean Industrial Deal communication, the Commission suggested that Member States are encouraged to include additional conditions in their aid schemes, in particular social, environmental and resilience policy objectives, such as tax solidarity and circularity. This is a step in the right direction from the Commission and welcome, but not sufficient.
In particular, we call for mandatory social conditionality as prerequisite criteria including the full respect for collective bargaining, workers’ and trade union rights. The returns of social conditionality are manifold: from the availability of a skilled workforce, greater labour market participation and wellbeing, decent living wages and stimulation of demand, tax incomes, regional cohesion and overall societal peace and trust in democratic organisations.
More generally, we believe that social conditions are a means of achieving a better societal return on public funds and that Member States should include these criteria in their respective State aid schemes, but also that the Commission should strictly monitor compliance with these conditions in its assessment of state aid. This will be necessary to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy, industrial decarbonization as well as to achieve the other objectives of the CISAF.
