Social Europe starts with a job

Economy |  Proponents of social Europe often claim that the European project has not delivered because it is perceived to work only for the sake of companies reaping the benefits of open borders and free trade. They claim that Europeans' attitude towards globalisation and a borderless European continent would be much more positive if people felt more secure in their everyday lives and at the workplace. They do not want Europe to become a United States that today is more inward-looking, protectionist and afraid of the challenges of globalisation, especially if this means increased competition from emerging economies such as China.

In times of crises, there are always temptations from business to argue for less social measures and security in order to safeguard jobs and competitiveness. Pay freezes, structural changes that in many cases mean redundancies and less resources for skills development and educational training might be the net effects. This breeds contempt on the part of trade unions who feel that it is always the workers that have to take the brunt for the mismanagement of economies or global recessions.

But what the standard-bearers of a social Europe forget or ignore is that European integration and more cross-border movement sometimes lead to clashes between the internal market and social solutions, which member states have put in place at national level. You cannot get more integration, which social Europe proponents want, and avoid competition between goods, services and people. Sheltering our producers and services providers from outside competitors will only lead to fewer and less attractive goods and services for the consumer. This argument goes also for competition between people who increasingly use their skills and adaptability in their professional careers. If a worker, be it a doctor or a plumber, wants to promote his or her own employability, continued upgrading of your professional skills is a must.

This leads to the conclusion that if we want to create a real social Europe, we have to make sure that the right conditions and framework legislation conducive to getting a job are in place. This is particularly true in the present crisis when unemployment continues to grow globally. OECD forecasts for 2010 talk about more than 55 million unemployed, equalling 10% of the workforce in the OECD countries, the highest figure in more than 50 years. There is a risk that unemployment becomes structural as many of the unemployed drift into long- term unemployment or drop out of the labour force, a vicious circle which may take many years to break.

But the situation on the EU labour markets differs substantially. Some countries have seen their unemployment figures rise by more than ten percentage points, while others have lower unemployment today than a year ago. For example, between the first quarter 2008 and the first quarter 2009 there has been a growth in employment in the Netherlands, Poland and Germany. The picture is equally diverse if one looks at employment rates among women and young people (Denmark shows a growth in youth employment) or if you look at the situation in different sectors. Service and retail are among the winners while the manufacturing industry is the biggest looser. In Sweden, France and the UK more than 15.000 jobs have been lost in the car industry in each country, while in Poland 15.000 jobs have been created. All these differences make it difficult to find targeted employment measures at European level.

The Tripartite Social Summit for Growth and Employment on the 29 October – bearing the headline “Recovery and beyond: threats and opportunities” – will focus on short-term exit strategies as well as on EU’s long term challenges. One issue which will be dealt with is the climate change.

Business welcomes that the EU has given climate change priority and the efforts being made for the conclusion of an ambitious international agreement. Such an agreement is crucial in order to tackle climate change in an efficient manner but also to avoid distortion of competition for business.

There has been much talk about green jobs, and there will also be great opportunities for business as costs on fossils will grow higher in the future. New cleaner and more efficient technologies will develop given the right conditions, clear objectives and neutral frameworks.

But green jobs only will not make Europe prosper and a great competitor on the global market place. Only through policies which promote growth and competitiveness in general will Europe be able to create real economic sustainability and real jobs for the future.

Niklas Bergström