“If Social Europe is ‘parked’, then the remaining popular support for Europe will shrink even further,” he adds.

The ETUC is reacting strongly to those critics who are alleging that social Europe is outdated or does not exist; that the reality is 25 separate national systems (or, possibly, five categories of systems); and that social policy should therefore cease to matter at European level.

These critics are missing one huge factor: there is now one single market covering 25 countries. In certain sectors like construction, hotels and catering and road transport, there is increasingly one single labour market. How can there be a single labour market without some common standards? For example, under what conditions and jurisdiction do mobile migrant workers operate? What is the status of collective agreements in the single market? Does single market law (European law) overrule the right to strike (national law)? If there are 25 separate systems, what scope have individual nations to protect the right to make collective agreements or the right to strike?

These and other questions need to be answered quickly at the European level through concerted action from the Council of Ministers, the European Commission and the social partners. The ETUC document adopted at the Executive Committee of 19-20 October, Shaping a Strong and Social Europe sets out an agenda for change, for common effort and for action.

Says John Monks: “This is crucial not only for the future of Social Europe, but for the future of Europe itself.”

 Shaping a strong and Social Europe (Summary)
 Shaping a strong and Social Europe (A draft contribution by ETUC)
 Europe needs more flexible macroeconomic policies (A Pamphlet from the ETUC)