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The left bloc’s priority is to secure the chairmanship of the European Parliament’s Labour Affairs Committee to prevent any rollbacks on the environment and workers’ protections over the next five-year term, the left-wing head of the new commission said in an interview with Euractiv.
Lee Anderson said that given the Turn right In June’s EU elections, many newly elected MEPs specifically raised the need to cut environmental regulations.
“After the European Parliament elections, I think a lot of people are worried that the whole social dimension and investments in society will fall down the agenda,” the Finnish MP said.
Anderson said one of her main goals as Commission president would be to ensure social issues remain at the forefront of the parliamentary agenda – working to “link” social issues with other key EU policy goals, including competitiveness and the green and digital transitions.
“I think investing in worker protections, education and so on, coupled with an ambitious environmental agenda, is really what competitiveness should be built on,” she said.
“I think this is really what Europe should be doing in the coming years.”
Her comments came amid growing concerns about a weakening European economy and Growing consensus Business groups and politicians agree that reducing the regulatory burden on businesses is important for boosting output and investment.
Anderson is the first member of the European Parliament. Win more votes Last month, he became the only member of the left-wing group to chair a committee across the entire parliament, more than any other MEP in Finnish history.
She said Europe’s rightward shift also highlighted the importance of “progressive” parties working together to strengthen the EU’s social model.
“I think it’s more important that different political groups, different political forces agree on the importance of these social issues and work together to form majorities and coalitions to push the agenda forward.”
“There has to be some concrete suggestions”
Anderson stressed that the previous administration passed several pieces of legislation that benefited workers, including Platform work instructionsimproving employment conditions for those who earn money through ride-sharing and delivery apps, and Minimum Wage DirectiveThe Convention sets a target of 80% collective bargaining coverage among member states.
The MEP also welcomed the right to disconnect and “better use” of public procurement (which accounts for 14% of the EU’s annual GDP) mentioned by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her recent report. Political Policy The next five-year term.
However, she said the EU executive could pay more attention to labor issues, especially in ensuring subcontracting and public procurement respected citizens’ rights to collective bargaining.
“Collective agreements are a way of ensuring that businesses play fair, by making sure that no one gets an unfair advantage over the competition by treating workers poorly,” Anderson explained.
She also expressed support for von der Leyen proposal Appoint a commissioner with “direct responsibility” for addressing Europe’s growing housing crisis, but stressed the need for “concrete proposals” in this area as well.
“It’s not enough to just say you have a designated policy area.”
Waiting for Draghi
Anderson’s comments come ahead of the release of a much-anticipated EU competitiveness report by former ECB President Mario Draghi, which is expected to have a significant impact on EU policy in the coming years.
In recent months, Draghi’s reports Expected to be released in September – strikes a fine line between calling for deregulation and stressing the need to protect the European welfare model.
Draghi previously explain “Layers of regulation place a burden on long-term investment in the EU,” and called for a “streamlining” of the EU’s regulatory framework.
However, he also stressed that “maintaining a high level of social security” across Europe was “non-negotiable”.
Esther Lynch, Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation, also famous Earlier this year, Draghi “pointed to the Nordic social model as an example that other European countries could follow” during a meeting with the European Union.
“It will be very interesting to see how balanced the report is and how strong the social agenda is in it,” Anderson said.
Andersson, who served as Finland’s education minister from 2019 to 2023, agrees that the Nordic countries can offer important lessons on the relationship between social welfare and productivity.
“I think one of the lessons that the Nordic countries have learned, at least traditionally, is that investing in equality and social innovation, making sure that we have economies where workers are treated well, making sure that there is a level playing field for workers and companies, making sure that we have high-quality education that is open to everyone — that is actually very good for competitiveness,” she said.
(Anna Brunetti/Editing by Zoran Radosavljevic)
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