EESC spoort sociale partners en maatschappelijke organisaties in de Baltische Staten aan om verantwoordelijkheid voor economische hervormingen te nemen (en)
The way out of the crisis can be used as an opportunity to create good quality jobs; reforms must be socially acceptable and conducive to sustainable growth, these are the main messages from a conference in Vilnius, that the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) organized jointly with the Seimas, or the Lithuanian Parliament. EESC President Staffan Nilsson called for more engagement of social partners and civil society in the reform process in order to involve the people the reform measures are addressed to.
“Today’s conference is a good platform of debate on how to ensure that the current dramatic economic crisis resulting in thousands being laid off does not happen again”, said EESC President Staffan Nilsson in his opening address. Turning to anti-crisis measures, he insisted that they must not squeeze demand but should instead focus on maintaining employment.
His intervention was followed by Irena Degutien?, Speaker of the Seimas, who insisted that “our goal is to create new and better jobs and thus avoid social tensions in the current recovery phase”. However, she struck a cautious note saying that “it would be a bit premature to declare that the crisis is over by now”. Broadening the scope, Rimantas Jonas Dagys, Chairman of the Committee on Social Affairs and Labour in the Lithuanian Parliament deplored the lack of EU-wide mechanisms to deal with the crisis and said that “more EU guidance is needed to help countries overcome the crisis”.
In this context, László Andor i, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion underlined that the current predicament of the Baltic States is not only the result of the crisis. “Some of the domestic factors have also played their role”, he said. Turning to anti-crisis measures, he insisted on the need for employment policies to aim at creating new and better jobs through investment in education and training.
Donatas Jankauskas, Lithuanian Minister for Social Security and Labour acknowledged that the current crisis exposed weaknesses of the national labour market, employment policies and social security systems. Defending anti-crisis measures taken by the Lithuanian government, he said that “these difficult and unpopular decisions will help prevent the country from slipping into a crisis again.” He reiterated the government’s commitment to an open and comprehensive dialogue with social partners and civil society.
The programme of President Nilsson’s two-day visit to Vilnius included a series of high-level meetings with the Lithuanian President, Dalia Grybauskaite i, Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, Minister of Social Security and Labour, Donatas Jankauskas and the Lithuanian Tripartite Council.
For more information, please contact:
Barbara GESSLER, EESC Press Unit,
Tel.:+32 2 546 8066;
barbara.gessler@eesc.europa.eu