Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-02-Speech-2-009"
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".
Mr President, President-in-Office of the Council, President of the Commission, Commissioner Špidla, ladies and gentlemen, the Group of the European People's Party and European Democrats sets great store by social justice. Upholding European social models is one of our priorities in an increasingly globalised world. And for this reason, as Chairman of the EPP Group, I welcome the Commission's proposal on the new social package. This text offers some answers to questions of fundamental importance to our societies, such as demographic change, globalisation and poverty reduction.
My group feels that the Commission should go still further and take more specific measures. Alleviating poverty, getting population groups who are excluded from the labour market into employment, promoting worker mobility and improving workers' education and training – these are things that call for a specific programme, concrete measures and strong commitment on the part of the European Union and its Member States.
Demographic change is a major challenge for our economies. Workers over pensionable age, women, young people and above all persons with a disability – generally speaking everyone who has been out of the labour market for a long period of time – must be given a new chance. We must help these people to find work or get back to work. To that end we want concrete measures to promote lifelong learning.
Persons who
in work continue to face inequalities. We are very concerned by the continuing pay gap between men and women. That is something which ought not to exist in the Europe of 2008. Similarly, appropriate care facilities must be provided to help people combine work and family life. We thus call on the Commission and Council to take specific measures here. My Group is opposed to all forms of discrimination. So we approve of the Commission's declared intention to plug the loopholes which persist in the relevant legislation. Action on discrimination against disabled people in particular must be intensified.
Ladies and gentlemen, we believe that the most effective instrument we have for upholding social models in this age of globalisation is economic growth. But we are convinced that in order to attain the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy we must promote the cause of business and industry, because it is enterprise that basically drives job creation. We must improve the image of the entrepreneur in Europe and encourage young people to set up their own businesses. We must also encourage a competitive environment for our businesses, giving special support to small and medium-sized enterprises which are the leading creators of jobs.
With this in mind we urge all players in the field to work for more flexicurity in Europe. The concept has proved its worth in those countries that have adopted it. It allows businesses the flexibility they need to be internationally competitive, whilst protecting workers at the same time. I welcome the Commission's intention to promote social dialogue. For us, partnership based on trust within businesses is key to their success in the marketplace.
Ladies and gentlemen, in the current treaties social matters are still essentially the province of the Member States. That may, and must, change but until it does we have to abide by the subsidiarity principle. We have no choice. That does not stop the Commission from conducting impact studies, condemning inequalities and seeking to assess the social consequences of any new proposed legislation. Indeed I urge it to do so. The social and societal challenges we face are considerable: we need to reform our economies, adapting them to be more competitive, so that fewer people suffer exclusion. There cannot be social progress without economic growth, but the economy cannot be competitive without social progress. The EPP-ED Group is determined, now more than ever, to achieve results here."@en1
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