Speech by Commissioner Schmit at the high-level conference on the European Pillar of Social Rights

Dear Presidents, dear Prime Minister, dear Ministers, ladies and gentlemen,

My thanks to the Belgian Presidency for its long-standing commitment to social Europe, and for bringing us to La Hulpe to have this fundamental exchange.

The discussions at La Hulpe show that despite our diversity, there is common ground. We have to work on this common ground, as this is what makes Europe.

I am often asked what I am most proud of, as we approach the end of this mandate.

Of course delivering employment legislation – such as ensuring adequate minimum wages, protecting platform workers, and guaranteeing high standards of health and safety at work –  are obviously achievements we can together celebrate.

Delivering on the promise of building a Europe that protects: giving children in need a good start to life; improving long term care systems in the EU, which are ever more under pressure; starting to tackle homelessness by bringing together cities, regions and experts to share best practice.

All the initiatives that have helped put the spotlight on skills and training including in this Year of Skills. One year is not enough by the way - we need at least a decade of skills. These are helping to make the transitions inclusive, and to make the opportunities accessible to all workers.

All the programmes we have funded to support young people who have lost their way, to help them develop their talents and build their confidence.

Preventing the COVID crisis from leading to massive unemployment by quickly creating the SURE instrument.

In essence: turning the principles of the Pillar of Social Rights into real actions, as we pledged we would at Porto.

But the thing I am most proud of, is the fact that we have mainstreamed social into EU policymaking. And this cannot stop.

We began the mandate using the phrase “nobody should be left behind”. This mantra has stayed with us, and guides the Commission's work spanning climate, energy, economic and agriculture.

It is true that the Porto Social Summit in May 2021 was a turning point for Social Europe. And here in La Hulpe you have built on this and developed on it.

Porto reinforced the message that you cannot have a strong, resilient and competitive economy without strong social protection and inclusion. And we have been systematically putting fairness and the social dimension throughout all EU policies.

A major driver for fulfilling this pledge is that it is what EU citizens want and expect from us.

In the latest Eurobarometer survey published last week, nine out of ten people (88%) across the EU said a social Europe is important to them personally.

We also asked them what they felt should be the biggest priority in their country:

Tackling the high cost of living is by far the most-frequently mentioned issue (48%), followed by increasing low wages (35%).

So, where do we go from here? If you allow me, I would like to give you my vision for the future of social Europe.

We must see less inequality and poverty.

We will bring back into the fold people who have lost their way, or have been caught in a cycle of marginalisation over generations. That's also about fighting labour shortages.

Children from all backgrounds will be given the chance to thrive at school, and take part in society.

People of all ages will take on new challenges in their working lives, learning new skills, moving between sectors, earning decent wages, enjoying a good work-life balance, feeling empowered to try new things, to fail sometimes and to try again and to be successful. This means a strong culture of entrepreneurship.

Companies and workers will make full use of Artificial Intelligence and new technologies, saving time, increasing productivity, and improving health and safety. There should always be human oversight and transparency over decisions controlled by algorithms in the workplace.

We have to get the best out of this disruptive innovation. The Platform Work directive and the AI Act are good starting points. And I hope we will soon come to an agreement on the Right to Disconnect. We have to look after the mental health of workers.

Housing will become more affordable, energy-efficient and a place for people to call home. Homelessness will become a rarity. No one will fall between the cracks – the safety nets in place will quickly scoop them up and help them back on the right path. The Housing First approach will become the norm.

The EU will forge ahead to meet its climate targets, all the while ensuring that fairness and solidarity remain at the core of the Green Deal.

People whose jobs have become deplete will be re-trained to prepare for new jobs.

Vulnerable households will be supported in accessing essential services.

Renewable energies will provide millions of jobs for Europeans, and reduce the energy price for households and businesses. Solidarity applies to people and to companies, as well as regions and territories that are affected by the transitions. This is why cohesion policy remains so important.

You may be thinking that this sounds like a utopian vision, a fantasy. But I believe that it is achievable, if we view every policy that we propose through a human-centric lens.

We must constantly ask ourselves: “What will be the impact of our actions? What is the distributional impact? How can we mitigate the negative, and bolster the positive effects, economic and social?”

We have to further develop the concept of social investment. With Ministers of EPSCO and ECOFIN, we discussed how to translate and integrate that into our common economic governance. My congratulations to the Spanish and Belgian Presidencies on developing the social convergence framework.

In period of major changes that oblige companies to adapt constantly, social dialogue is of the essence. This has to happen at all levels. This includes collective bargaining and more and better participation of all stakeholders in decision-taking.

When things get tough – and nobody would disagree that we have witnessed a tough few years – we must not forget about social rights and protection. On the contrary, that is precisely the time to double down and focus on social, on people.

Europe's security is about defence and a strong economy based on strategic autonomy, but it is also about social cohesion.

Investing in people is never a waste. It is the best way to mitigate the skills and labour shortages that so many companies are facing which is a big problem for our growth potential.

Think about interns and apprentices: by investing time and resources into their training, you nurture their talents and help shape your future employees.

Think about children facing poverty: by providing them with free early childcare, free school meals, access to extra-curricular activities and healthcare, you make it possible for them to escape a life of struggle and exclusion, and you gain active members of society and the labour market.

We should not be afraid to think outside the box in a time when things are so rapidly changing.

At the start of the mandate, we knew we had a massive challenge to get people in large numbers to reskill and retrain. So we brought together big companies, SMEs, trade unions, academics, employment agencies, educators – and we asked them – where are your skills gaps? And how can you help meet those needs?

Already, the Pact for Skills has provided training to 3.5 million workers with commitments to train more than 25 million people by 2030. It is key for Europe's new economic and sustainable development to actively include SMEs in skills policies that have to be adapted to their particular needs

Three years ago in Porto, we said it was time to deliver. And we have delivered. Most importantly, we have set something in motion: the journey towards a strong social Europe that protects.

But the journey is not over. This is a collective effort: we all have a role to play. We must hold each other to account and keep pushing for a Europe that is fair, inclusive and full of opportunity.

This conference is a very solid base. Thank you to the Belgian Presidency for having initiated this gathering.

Thank you.