A new official European Union poll showing that the cost-of-living remains the top priority for citizens proves why Commission President Ursula von der Leyen must centre her State of the Union address on the needs of working people and not the deregulation demands of corporate lobbyists.
The fight against poverty, the creation of new jobs, and support for public health were also among the top five priorities for citizens in the European Parliament’s spring survey published this week.
The EU’s polling has consistently shown that these are the top priorities of citizens for at least 18 months, and yet the Commission’s work programme for 2025 did not include a single piece of social legislation. That compares to 8 pieces of deregulation legislation.
Ahead of next week’s State of the Union speech, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) General Secretary Esther Lynch has written to President von der Leyen to urge her to use the occasion to return to the real issues faced by working people and put their jobs and pay back at the centre of the Commission’s agenda.
The ETUC is calling on President von der Leyen to commit to:
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Increasing pay and conditions by ensuring public money goes to companies that respect workers’ rights to a collectively bargained contract;
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Delivering a Just Transition directive that ensures economic change is managed so that workers and communities are not left behind;
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Protecting and creating quality jobs through a permanent EU investment mechanism.
ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:
“The EU’s own official polling shows that the policies prioritised by the European Commission over the last year simply have not matched the priorities of European citizens. This is the moment to put that right.
“Next week’s State of the Union address must be centred on putting money in the pockets of working people instead of allowing the corporate lobbyists with the deepest pockets to set the Commission’s agenda.
“President von der Leyen must finally announce legislation that improves the lives of working people - through support for collective bargaining of better pay, through investment in our industries that provide quality jobs, and through new rights to training for opportunities of the future.
“Continuing to follow Donald Trump into a race to the bottom that Europe can never win threatens social cohesion and weakens the very foundation of the European project. Instead now is the time to stand-up for our European social model that has shown high investment, high quality jobs and high quality products and public services are our path to success in the world.”
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Letter from the European Trade Union Confederation to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
