John Monks, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) warned: “The creation of a Vice-President for Competitiveness risks being the death knell for European trade union commitment to Europe. If Social Europe is relegated in importance, then the popular basis for Europe is also relegated. The two are interdependent.”

Under pressure from those governments which believe that the only way to generate economic growth in Europe is to dismantle social protection, the Spring Summit is likely to agree that a new post of Vice-President for Competitiveness should be created in the European Commission. This Vice-President could apparently “impact-check” all EU proposals, including any proposals in the social and environmental fields, to see if they damage enterprise or jobs.

If he or she judges that they do, those measures will go no further.

As just about any regulation will be accused by employer lobbyists of costing jobs, the real possibility is that no proposals for social or environmental advance will pass the test set by the new Vice-President. This would be desperately short sighted. Worse, it would damage the basis for building a social Europe, which was a major reason why Europe’s trade unions came to support the European Union. If it is to be a single free market with no robust social standards, the inevitable result will be a loss of support for the whole concept of Europe among unions and an increase in support for anti-globalisation measures.