Industrial Relations and Social Dialogue in the EMCEF Balatongyörök, April 29, 2006

How we see the European Integration  Integration process will continue  Despite the enlargement in 2007 and further agreements of association, as lot more of issues will be decided upon at European level  This refers mainly to issues on the Lisbon list and will continue beyond 2010

Who will decide?  Due to the results of the Nice Summit, the role of the Parliament will be considerably increase after enlargement – Consultation procedure  European regulations will be decided upon in an increasingly European sense – principle of majority rule and role of the Council  EU Commission has gained in quality again – mainly due to the new EU member countries

Industrial Policy  Focussing on services has been dominant for long – greater emphasis on industrial issues only since 2004  Recognizing importance of industrial development for reaching Lisbon aims  Integration of other issues into industrial policy

In Detail  EU-Commission initiatives on horizontal issues – general and specific conditions  Further branch-related initiatives with specific programmes  Strengthening industrial branches not by subsidies, but other measures of support  Several EMCEF branches are among them

Further Initiatives  Better regulation – better legislation  Dominance of environmental action programmes over industrial policy decreases  European market of services shall also support industrial development – Directive is on the agenda

Energy Policy  Larger role of the EU – coordination of national policies  Focus is on ensuring energy supply  Debate on energy resources will gain in importance in the years to come – including our own reserves, new technologies and economizing on energy

Present Situation  Wave of mergers – driving forces are great capital requirements as well as developments in other countries  National concepts have no future  Energy companies will continue to play an important role in the development of society and in social affairs

Social Regulations  Since establishing the Single Market, the social dimension of the integration process has been missing – the „European Social Model“ cannot replace it  Debates on the Services Directive and the Constitution have explosive effects  Social dialogues can play a role here by benefiting from the social partners’ competencies

Social Dialogues  Delor’s concept was to close the gap in terms of social issues – today, however, it could comprise even more  Till now only a few results: 32 branch dialogues and UNICE/ETUC with considerable differences in quality – large industrial branches are missing  Improving quality and topics is necessary – we are working on it

Opportunities  Improving mutual recognition  Consultations on all issues relating to the industrial branches are possible – it is important to consult at all levels  External expertise should increasingly be used  Same refers to other EU programmes

Topics  Qualification gains in importance due to demographic changes  Industrial safety is very cost-intensive  Topics relating to industrial policies have to be put on the agenda  Other topics will come: Legal framework for collective bargaining

The Role We Play  Social dialogue presupposes different roles  From the traditional as well as practical point of view there are different addressees in the EP and the EU Commission  Reaching agreement on the topics can be used in the interest of the given branch and people

Thank you for your attention