During the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels (08-11 March 2021), MEPs debate on the action Plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, in preparation of the Social Summit in Porto in May: opening statements by Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs and President in office of the European Council and Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights. This transcription speech is the result of an automatic process. Check against delivery.

Brussels

social Europe (T)

SCHMIT, Nicolas (LU, EC)

statement

debate

plenary session

economic growth (T)

BARLEY, Katarina (S&D, DE)

Recovery plan for Europe (T)

ZACARIAS, Ana Paula (PT)

recovery and resilience facility (T)

Action Plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, in preparation of the Social Summit in Porto in May: opening statements by Ana Paula ZACARIAS and Nicolas SCHMIT

SOUNDBITE (Original), Katarina BARLEY (S&D, DE), chair, The vote on the amendments will take place today and the final vote tomorrow. The next item on the agenda is the council and commission statement action plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights in preparation of the social summit in Porto in May. I would like to remind members that all four debates of this past session will be no catch the procedure and no blue cards. Remote interventions from the European Parliament's liaison officers member states are foreseen.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Katarina BARLEY (S&D, DE), chair, If everyone is ready. I suggest we first hear from the Council, from Ms Zacarias.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Madam Chair, honourable members, dear Commissioner Schmit, thank you for giving me the opportunity to intervene on this important topic that is central to the idea of a social Europe and central to the plans and ambitions of the Portuguese presidency. While diversity is a key characteristic of our union, there are some basic ideas about society that unite us and guide us all in the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, There is the idea that the economy should serve people and not the way around. That is the idea that people comes before profit. That is the idea that a good society, a society that thrives, is a society that embraces all and offers equal opportunities for all and solidarity to those in need so no one is left behind.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, A society built around these principles offers not just fairness, offers resilience, creativity, sustainability, and it provides us with solid foundations to face the challenges of the present and of the future, the covid crisis and the digital and climate transitions. The European social model has demonstrated is worth in the face of great tests, but has also put been put under strain by globalization, demographic changes, the great financial crisis and the covid-19 pandemic.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, All of these challenges have hit the weakest parts of our society the hardest and tested our solidarity. Since 2017, the European pillar of social rights has been our compass on the road to creating a social Europe. We have always met the goals that we set to ourselves, but that only existent has set out the bar high. And we have made significant progress by adopting initiatives such as the Youth Guarantee, the European Accessibility Act, the Directive on work life balance and many more.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, But now it's time to act. It is time to give new impetus to the pillar and turn its 20 principles into action. In this regard, we welcome the commission's newly adopted action plan for the European Pillar of Social Rights and all the associated instruments. These are significant steps forward for the construction of a stronger social Europe. In the coming years, national recovery and resilience plans, together with the multiannual financial framework, will also provide a unique opportunity to invest in people, employment, skills, welfare, ensuring a sustainable and digital recovery.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, We welcome the action plan as an outline of concrete action articulating the Commission efforts with the ones of the member states with an active involvement of social partners of civil society without forgetting the key role of the European Parliament in this endeavour. It includes concrete targets with a detailed timeline of plan. The initiatives that will bring us a step further in updating social rights.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Strengthening the social dimension of the EU is the central theme of the Portuguese presidency. We want to use our time at the helm of the Council to strengthen Europe's resilience and boost confidence in citizens in an inclusive model of growth. The adoption of the action plan is a key milestone on the road to the Porto Social Summit. The summit, as you know, will be organised around two events.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, On the first day, May 7th, we will have a high level conference that will bring together member states, European institutions, social partners and representatives of the civil society to give impetus to the implementation of the pillar, emphasising its central role for the next decade. The outcome of the conference will fit into the informal European Council that will take place the following day on May the 8th.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, It will be an occasion to rally all forces to renew the commitment to implement the European pillar around Porto Declaration. The ambition that we have set out for this exercise needs to take into account the diversity of the social realities of each member state. This is our starting point. The action plan clearly defines the road ahead with the goal of finding common ground, a road towards more convergence.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, According to the latest Eurobarometer, nearly 9 in 10 Europeans say that a social Europe is important for their lives, for their daily lives. And this confirms that so much is still need to be done. It confirms the relevance of the Porto summit. It confirms also, in my point of view, that the social dimension will be an important theme of the conference on the future of Europe, a Europe that cares about people, workers, families, business, a Europe that supports employment skills, social protection and competitive economies, a Europe that is more convergent, more cohesive, more inclusive honourable members.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, . Ladies and gentlemen, over the years, the European Parliament has been a strong voice in the defence of these goals. The own initiative report on a social, strong social Europe for just transitions adopted by this House last December is a timely contribution to the Porto summit, providing proving that social Europe remains high on the parliament list of priorities. In this context, we look forward to continuing to working with you, amongst others, on the proposal for adequate minimum wages and bringing high and buiding pay transparency measures.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, We know that we do not always agree on every single item on the level of ambition or on the speed of change, but that must not stand in the way of us working together when there is such a need to do so. The Council is also very much looking forward to starting its work on a topic inspired by the Parliament, the european child guarantee.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Let's unite our forces, Institutions, Member States, Commission, Parliament, social partners, civil society to make sure that we can progress towards these goals for the benefit of all citizens. Making the Porto Summit a stepping stone in our joint commitment to overcome the crisis and build a strong social Europe. Thank you very much.

SOUNDBITE (Original),  Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Madam President, dear presidency, on Thursday, last week, the Commission adopted the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, and the political commitment and contribution of this Parliament have been extremely helpful in this context. I just want to really to remind that in January 2017, so before the adoption of the pillar in its report, the parliament called for a clear roadmap for the full implementation of the pillar.

SOUNDBITE (Original),  Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, You have successfully put and kept the necessity for an action plan on the political agenda. In December of last year, you have voted a detailed and ambitious resolution setting out your proposals and they have been greatly taken into account and they have contributed to our work. So why do we need this action plan? Firstly, because European citizens expect and want action, action in the social fields.

SOUNDBITE (Original),  Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, The eurobarometer published last week showed that 9 out of 10 Europeans say social issues matter to them personally, personally. Secondly, the action plan is a call for collective action in the face of common challenges, and we just had a long discussion on the recovery and the ways for sustainable growth and a sustainable recovery. Resolute action by member states supported by the EU allowed us to limit the rise in EU unemployment thanks to an instrument culture.

SOUNDBITE (Original),  Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Still, some sectors and vulnerable groups in society have been disproportionately affected. Our latest winter economic forecast show a glimmer of hope on a resumption of growth in spring. We must maintain our unity as we move from crisis fighting to recovery policies. Thirdly, the pillar must stand at the centre of the of our approach to the transformation of our economy and society. We simply will not achieve a green and digital Europe and recover from the current crisis without promoting social rights, without guaranteeing equal opportunities for all.

SOUNDBITE (Original),  Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, With a new long term budget and the next generation EU recovery package, we have put in place the largest investment package ever financed through the EU budget and I have highlighted the link between the national recovery and resilience plans and the implementation of the social pillar. Also in the previous debates, social rights, upward social and economic convergence, social cohesion needs drive investments and reforms in the national Recovery and Resilience Plans.

SOUNDBITE (Original),  Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, And the Action Plan breathed new life into the pillars 20 principles. It puts forward three EU level targets for 2030. These are an expression which should be an expression of common ambition. At least 78 percent of the population, aged 20 to 64 should be in employment by 2030. This means, for some member states, a huge effort because some are even under 70 percent, at least 60 percent of all adults should participate in training every year. Also here, there is a big gap, especially in a certain number of member states.

SOUNDBITE (Original),  Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, And the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion should be reduced by and I insist very much on at least 15 million by 2030. I just remembered that one member state has left us recently. We believe these targets to be realistic, and they should be the minimum to be reached. Our action plan invites the European Council to endorse them. This matters because it's not only through employment and social policies that we will achieve these targets. We need to put social progress at the heart of all of all our policies.

SOUNDBITE (Original),  Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, We also invite member states to define their own national targets, taking into account their starting position. We do not simply set targets and objectives and leave it at that. The action plan provides clear tools and policy measures to achieve these goals. We have put forward specific actions at EU level to support this. Some of them already have been tabled, like the proposal on the framework for adequate minimum wages or the reinforced youth guarantee.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Some, such as the European child guarantee and the President has referred to and the Strategic Framework on safety and tells are in the pipeline and others will follow this year and the years to come. Last week we adopted a Commission recommendation on effective, active support for employment. And let me stress the importance of this recommendation that provides guidance to member states with a view to accompany labour market transitions and support quality job creation.

SOUNDBITE (Original),  Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, It is based on the policy package, including hiring and transition into incentives, upskilling and reskilling and enhanced support by employment services. We have also adopted the directive on binding pay transparency measures and a new disability rights strategy. There will not be a sustainable recovery without guaranteeing gender equality and concrete measures for the most vulnerable and especially the people with a disability.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Delivering the pillar is not the sole responsibility of the commission. It is and must be a common endeavour of all EU institutions, member states, social partners, regional and local authorities and civil society. This is why our action plan, which calls all tools that we put at disposal to support the efforts of other actors, namely member states. It recalls the financial resources available. Present initiatives to support social dialogue underlines the need to enforce the legislative acquis and last but not least, confirms that the European Semester will remain the framework to monitor and coordinate the implementation of the Social Pillar Action Plan.

SOUNDBITE (Original),  Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, In this context, we make a proposal for a revised social scoreboard, which will allow a detailed monitoring of progress. The President, honourable members. We are together on the road to Porto, as the president has just said, and we will strive for an endorsement of the action plan and its new targets. At the highest political level, we have a unique opportunity to set the course for fairer, more inclusive and more resilient Europe. The Commission counts on your support. As the Portuguese presidency would say, it's time to deliver. Thank you.