Prime Minister Straujuma: Investment and high-quality jobs are essential for growth in Europe

On 19 March in Brussels, Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma i addressed the Tripartite Social Summit aimed at focusing on investments in growth and job creation in Europe.

The mission of the Summit is to provide a link among the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission and the social partners. The Prime Minister emphasised that the investment and high-quality jobs are essential pre-conditions for further growth in Europe.

"The economies of the EU Member States are slowly recovering from the crisis; in some Member States the number of jobs is growing slowly. The involvement of all parties in the preparation, adoption and implementation of decisions is essential in order to take into account the interests of both employees and employers equally, as well as to contribute to addressing the challenges of long-term unemployment and poverty," noted Laimdota Straujuma when discussing Europe's economic future.

The Prime Minister informed about the achievements of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union - in a record time, the Council of the European Union has reviewed the proposal for the Regulation for a European Fund for Strategic Investments. Laimdota Straujuma expressed her conviction that the negotiations with the European Parliament regarding this issue will also be concluded during the Latvian Presidency.

In the context of the Investment Plan, Laimdota Straujuma stressed that the social partners play a vital role in mobilising private investment and contributing to growth in the European Union, as well as in creating new, high-quality jobs for European citizens.

At the same time, it is important not to consider the Investment Plan in isolation from other financial options. "In order to achieve better results, the synergy between the European Fund for Strategic Investments and other European Union funds and programmes, particularly the Structural Funds, as well as national, public and private funding sources should be successfully used. It is also necessary to remember the need to promote access to funding for small and medium-sized enterprises," said the Prime Minister.

According to Laimdota Straujuma, over the past years the quality of jobs has not been adequately evaluated. There is a link between poor quality and insecure jobs, inequalities, poverty and social exclusion of employees.

The Prime Minister drew attention to the importance of lifelong learning: "In the context of technological changes and digitalisation, lifelong learning becomes increasingly important and brings people closer to higher quality jobs."

The Minister for Welfare, Uldis Augulis, and the social partners from Latvia also addressed the participants of the Summit.

Statement by Laimdota Straujuma at the press conference following the meeting: