A sustainable development for EU

A sustainable development is a fundamental objective of the European Union

Rome [ENA] A sustainable development is a fundamental objective of the European Union. The social market economy is based on two complementary pillars, namely the enforcement of competition and robust social policy measures, which should lead to the achievement of full employment and social progress. The three pillars of sustainable development are the economic, the social and the environmental. Sustainable development is based

among other things, on full employment and social progress. Up till now priority has been given to economic and environmental sustainability. There are emerging challenges that Europe is facing, such as increasing inequalities between generations, weakened social, health, economic and environmental opportunities and resources, territorial disparities, and unequal access to essential social and health services, jobs and business opportunities and social infrastructure. Reducing inequalities is a shared responsibility of the EU and the Member States.

Inequalities (of income and of opportunities) have risen in a majority of Member States since the 2008 economic crisis, challenging both the sustainability and inclusiveness of growth and social cohesion, and in this context progress towards the EU 2020 targets has been difficult. The European labour market is undergoing major changes. These changes create challenges and new opportunities that affect all Member States and all Europeans. There is a strong and assumed need for just transitions, in Europe and the world, to sustainable resource exploitation, lowering of CO2 emissions and strong protection of the environment, in order to safeguard the livelihoods, security, health and prosperity of future generations.

The transitions towards a stable and sustainable green and environment-friendly economy and social dimension will require cooperation between public and private actors, and must be accompanied by a process of reindustrialisation, modernisation of the industrial base and strengthening of the internal market. The green, digital and demographic transitions affect European regions, sectors, workers and population groups in different ways and these transitions will require significant reskilling and labour reallocation in order to prevent job destruction in affected sectors. The European Commission ought to strongly enforce the social clause of the existing EU public procurement directive and to examine the need to revise that directive

in order to strengthen social clauses in public contracts, requiring economic operators and subcontractors to fully respect workers’ right to collective bargaining, and to set conditions for the full implementation of the applicable sectorial collective agreements and the working conditions described therein, while at the same time respecting national labour market traditions and models. For this revision it’s vital to exempt all social and welfare services from the procurement obligations and to establish a European exclusion mechanismin order to exclude primary contractors and subcontractors who repeatedly engage in unfair competition and tax fraud.

A new EU approach has to end labour cost competition and increase upward social convergence for all. The post-Covid19 recovery period must be the time for reforms fully committed to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), based on solidarity, integration, social justice, a fair distribution of wealth, gender equality, high-quality public social welfare systems, quality employment and sustainable growth.

It is a model that ensures equality and social protection, takes into consideration the needs of vulnerable groups, enhances participation and citizenship and improves living standards for all. This could be the best way for the EU to emerge from this crisis being more sustainable, more resilient and fairer for the next generation.