COPIED
mins

Holding the European social model when challenged by external pressures, internal effects and continuous crises

Christa Schweng, president of the European Economic and Social Committee

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a deep economic recession; however, thanks to unprecedented EU support measures, by the beginning of 2022, we saw promising signs of recovery. Now, Europe is faced with yet another crisis: the war in Ukraine. The economic and social fallout of the unprovoked and unjustified Russian aggression against Ukraine will jeopardise the still fragile recovery of Europe.

It is still difficult to estimate the consequences of the war, with sanctions already introduced as a response to the Russian aggression. EU Member States and European regions will be affected in different ways and to different extents. One reason for this is dependency on Russian oil and gas, which differs between Member States. While the EU imports around 44 % of its gas from Russia, some EU Member States have a much higher dependence (e.g. Austria, around 80 % of whose gas is Russian).

As the impacts on the EU Member States will be asymmetric, solidarity and a common European response to mitigating the new economic and social hardships will be key. It is clear that Europe needs to accelerate the development of its technological and strategic autonomy, especially regarding energy, critical raw materials and food.

After the end of the lockdowns in Europe, we have seen job creation return, but companies experience serious difficulties in finding people with the right skills

Europe’s future needs to be based on a prosperous, resilient and sustainable economy that leaves no one behind. We have to foster the necessary reforms to help Europe face the digital and green transitions, which are a particular challenge for local economies. At the same time, the EU must continue work to reduce territorial disparities, and to ensure upward convergence and strengthened economic and social cohesion.

While many Member States have seen an increasing trend towards population concentration over the past decades, with movement from rural regions to large cities, it will be crucial to reverse this trend by making life in the countryside more attractive. This include access to essential services, digitalisation and new business opportunities.

Demographic ageing is another cross-cutting phenomenon that is a significant challenge when it comes to preserving the European social model. By 2030, Europe will have the oldest society in the world, which means that a smaller workforce will have to support more dependents in the future. In this context, we will need more competitiveness and productivity, and more people to be active in the labour market.

However, a key issue that needs to be tackled is the mismatch between people’s skills and enterprises’ needs. After the end of the lockdowns in Europe, we have seen job creation return, but companies experience serious difficulties in finding people with the right skills.

According to a European Commission study, ‘38 % of workplaces report that the lack of digital skills has an impact on their performance’. The World Economic Forum also pointed out that, in 10 years, 50 % of jobs will be changed by automation, and 9 out of 10 jobs will require digital skills

Implementing an agenda that delivers socially, economically and environmentally is now more pressing than ever

Investing in upskilling and reskilling is also a requirement to allow people to benefit from the twin transition, and to increase competitiveness and innovation in the EU. With job requirements changing more rapidly than ever, people need to have a genuine lifelong learning mindset to be able to adapt and thrive in their careers.

One of the top priorities is to include as many people in the labour market as possible. Therefore, the EESC highlighted the need for effective active labour market policies and strong public employment services to encourage more unemployed and inactive people to take up employment or become entrepreneurs. The EU needs to tap into the potential and talent of all women, elderly people, migrants and young people, and equip them with what they need to thrive and have rewarding careers. This requires a holistic approach that embraces various social and economic policies, including work–life balance, an accessible care system, active and healthy ageing policies, and sustainable and integrative migration policies.

Special attention needs to be devoted to young people. This European Year of Youth aims to shine the spotlight on their needs and rights. We need to involve them more in policies, and facilitate their education and work perspectives so that they can thrive and look at the future with confidence.

To conclude, implementing an agenda that delivers socially, economically and environmentally is now more pressing than ever. It cannot be overstated how important it is to fairly and effectively implement the reforms set up in the Member States’ Recovery and Resilience Plans. This can only be done with the full involvement of social partners and organised civil society at all stages of policies, from the design phase to implementation and evaluations. 

The EESC calls for minimum standards of consultation and for a partnership principle to be standard operating procedure in the implementation of the current reforms. This will allow us to fully benefit from the experience and the valuable ideas of civil society organisations, which are closest to the realities and needs of those at grassroots level.

This article appears in Stronger together

Go to Page View
This article appears in...
Stronger together
Go to Page View
EditoriALL
Wiktor Szydarowski, Director, ESPON EGTC
European challenges at the heart of renewed territorial planning
Yves Le Breton, Director General National Agency for Territorial Cohesion, (ANCT) France
We're going to do it because it's hard, not because it's easy
Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London.
15-minute city // 30-minutes territory
Carlos Moreno, Professor and the scientific director of the ETI Chair - Paris Pantheon Sorbonne University. Interview to Marie-Lorraine Dangeard, ANCT
Holding the European social model when challenged by external pressures, internal effects and continuous crises
Christa Schweng, president of the European Economic and Social Committee
The evolution and future of Cohesion Policy
Peter Berkowitz, Director Policy Development and Economic Analysis, at the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission
The eighth Cohesion Report: initial reflections on the future of Cohesion Policy
Nathalie Sarrabezolles, Chairwoman of the COTER commission of the CoR and Member of Finistère Departmental Council
Addressing policy challenges in urban and spatial planning through EU cohesion policy
Efthimios Bakogiannis, Secretary General of Spatial Planning and Urban Environment in the Ministry of Environment and Energy in Greece, and Assistant Professor, National Technical University of Athens
The right questions to ask about the future of cohesion policy
Francesco Molica, Director for Regional Policy, CPMR
The economic and social impact of COVID-19: a selection of policy responses
Nora Sanchez Gassen and John Moodie, Senior Research Fellows, Nordregio
Lagging regions: how to bounce forward
Annabelle Boutet, Head of the Foresight, Monitoring and Innovation Unit, French National Agency for Territorial Cohesion (ANCT)
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine: Europe’s next crucial steps
Urmas Paet, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee
Rebuilding Ukraine after the war, with support from the EU
Oleksandr Slobozhan, PhD in public administration Executive Director of the All-Ukrainian Association of Local Governments Bodies (Association of Ukrainian Cities)
From destruction to a new dimension of sustainability in post-war Ukraine
Eugenia Maruniak, D.Sc., Leonid Rudenko, Academician, D.Sc., Prof., Sergiy Lisovskyi, D.Sc., Yuriy Palekha, D.Sc.
EIB is ready to support EU efforts to rebuild Ukraine
Jean-Erik De Zagon, the Head of the EIB representation in Ukraine. Interview to Nikos Lampropoulos, ESPON EGTC
Cross-border public services: a pathway for full territorial cohesion
Valeria Cenacchi and Ricardo Ferreira, European Commission, DG Regio, Border Focal point
Rising awareness of brownfield potential
Lorraine Mazur, Senior Consultant, Damiano Ravera, Junior Consultant, Ramboll Management Consulting
New geographies, new institutional frameworks
Lanfranco Senn, Università Bocconi, Globus et Locus and Luca Garavaglia, Globus et Locus
Making Ground Book summary
Adrian Vickery Hill, researcher Osmosnetwork Valeria Fedeli, professor Politecnica di Milano
Impacts of the health crisis on the accessibility of services of general interest
Mar Ortega-Reig, Universitat Politècnica de València, Carsten Schürmann, TCP International, Adrian Ferrandis, Universitat de València
6AIKA: when cities pool resources together to develop solutions for common challenges
Ana Robalo Correia, Senior consultant , Deloitte Margarida Campolargo, Community and Project Manager, OASC Martin Brynskov, Chair, OASC
Outlook of the Czech Presidency
Milada Hronkova, Department of European Territorial Cooperation, Ministry for Regional Development, Czech Republic
Looking for back issues?
Browse the Archive >

Previous Article Next Article