At the invitation of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, a high-level conference on the future of social Europe was held in La Hulpe on April 15 and 16. For two days, EU ministers of employment and social affairs as well as other high-level policy makers, social partners, experts and civil society organisations discussed challenges and possible ways forward for social Europe. The conference concluded with the ceremonial signing of the La Hulpe Declaration on the Future of the European Pillar of Social Rights.

Advancing social Europe in the next EU legislative period
The European Pillar of Social Rights contains 20 social policy principles including fair wages, adequate unemployment benefits and pensions. It was proclaimed at the Social Summit in Gothenburg in 2017 and supported by all EU member states. At the Social Summit in Porto 2021 an Action Plan for its implementation was adopted (once again by all EU member states). The La Hulpe Declaration as well as the recently signed Val Duchesse Tripartite Declaration for a Thriving European Social Dialogue have been put forward in preparation of the next EU legislative period 2024-2029.

The La Hulpe Declaration was signed by the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Coo for the Presidency of the Council (on behalf of the 25 Member States), the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Esther Lynch, the General Secretaries of the Employers’ Associations, Véronique Willems of SME United (Austrian member: WKO) and Valeria Ronzitti of SGI Europe (Austrian member: VÖWG) as well as by the President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) Oliver Röpke and the President of the NGO-Association Social Platform Heather Roy.

Big Business opposes the compromise text
In the run-up of the La Hulpe conference intense discussions had taken place. The text of the Declaration is a compromise on a broad basis that EU member states as well as EU social partners and all stakeholders involved had jointly developed. The fact that Austria, Sweden and the Employers´ Association Business Europe (Austrian member: Industriellenvereinigung) were the only ones not to sign provoked irritation and criticism: "(...) Austria, of all countries! Being the social policy role model with the highest collective bargaining coverage," criticised Wolfgang Katzian, President of the ÖGB and ETUC, who was involved in negotiating the Declaration.

“We cannot allow for a powerful business lobby to jeopardize a fundamental agreement on the priorities of EU social policy”, also criticised the Austrian Minister of social affairs Johannes Rauch. Austria and Sweden, the only two EU member states that did not sign the Declaration, happen to be the countries where Business Europe's leaders come from: President Fredrik Persson is Swedish and Secretary General Markus Beyrer is Austrian. In his speech in La Hulpe, the latter explained that Business Europe would not support the Declaration (as the only EU social partner), arguing that it failed to sufficiently acknowledge economic success as the basis for social progress. The Employers' Association SME United, on the other hand, declared its support for social dialogue. In view of Austria's announcement at short notice that it would not sign the La Hulpe Declaration, the Belgian Presidency pointed out that the Declaration would still have to be adopted by the Council, adding that there was still an opportunity to support it.

Call for a “project of hope”
According to the latest Eurobarometer-survey 9 out of 10 people consider a social Europe important to them personally. When asked what issues should be addressed as a matter of priority by policymakers, half of the respondents cite the high cost of living and a third name low wages. In her speech in La Hulpe, ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch called for a “project of hope”. Workers need more protection, higher wages as well as better working and living conditions; issues that are addressed in the La Hulpe Declaration.

The upcoming EU legislative period will show what role the Declaration will actually play in the implementation of the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029. The day after the La Hulpe conference, the leaders of the EU Member States gathered for a Special European Council on competitiveness. This topic had already cast a shadow in La Hulpe. Mario Draghi, former Prime Minister of Italy and former President of the European Central Bank, has been commissioned by the EU Commission to draw up recommendations on the competitiveness of the EU. He presented his deliberations for the first time in La Hulpe. His message: The EU has been focusing its competitiveness policy too much inwards rather than outwards to the rest of the world; this needs to change. The implications that such a reorientation could have for the EU's social agenda remained unmentioned for the time being. Nicolas Schmit, EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, emphasized that “when things get tough”, social rights and social protection must not be forgotten about, that even on the contrary, this would be precisely the time to double down and focus on social and on people.

Further information:
Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU: The La Hulpe Declaration on the Future of Social Europe
AK EUROPA: The Social Pillar and the future EU social agenda
AK EUROPA: The European Pillar of Social Rights. Putting principles into practice
AK EUROPA: Social dialogue as a response to the challenges of our time
AK EUROPA Policy Brief: Towards strong social minimum standards for social progress in Europe
AK EUROPA: ETUC presentation of the manifesto for the European election 2024