ETUC submits its memorandum to the French Presidency of the EU
On 1 September, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) met the French Presidency of the European Union to submit its memorandum. The union delegation, led by ETUC President Wanja Lundby-Wedin and General Secretary John Monks, consisted of the general secretaries of the French unions that are affiliated to ETUC. At this meeting, ETUC reiterated that social Europe must stay at the heart of the EU’s priorities.
First of all, ETUC welcomed the French Presidency’s efforts to attempt to resolve the situation in Georgia. The same degree of effort needs to be put into resolving the internal problems of the European Union, such as issues related to social Europe. With the substantial deterioration in the economic climate, aggravated by the particular fragility of the financial markets, EU citizens expect a change of policy direction and quick answers to their everyday problems. It is crucial that the French Presidency takes this into consideration. The recent judgements of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the Laval, Viking, Rüffert and Luxembourg cases, compromising fundamental rights to satisfy the rules of the market have demonstrated the need to add a social progress protocol to the Treaty, as proposed by ETUC. ETUC is also awaiting a quick agreement on European Works Councils. John Monks said, “Europe is currently being hit by a series of shock waves. The French Presidency must put forward solutions to curb the economic and social decline.”
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