The Minister of Labour and Social Justice at the Tripartite Social Summit held at the headquarter of the Council of the European Union

The Minister of Labour and Social Justice, Lia-Olguța Vasilescu, participated, on Tuesday, at the Tripartite Social Summit, held at the headquarter of the Council of the European Union, meeting which was opened by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and by the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk.

The meeting was moderated by the Vice-President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, who is also European Commissioner for Euro and Social Dialogue, and also Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility participated in the works. Among the European social partners present at the discussions were also Dumitru Costin, President of the National Trade Union Bloc and Mihai Bogza, Executive Director of the Concordia Employers’ Confederation.

The central theme of the summit was Reinforcing competitiveness, sustainable job creation and social fairness in the European Union. Discussions focused on three sub themes: The Multi Annual Financial Framework 2021 - 2027 (including InvestEU, FSE+ and strengthening the Economic and Monetary Union); The Implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights: achievements and future evolutions; Digital revolution: potential for the labour markets and the economy.

“The Proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights in November last year, highlights once again the importance of the European Union’s social dimension. Romania has supported from the beginning the aim of the Social Pillar for a common approach of the protection and development of the social rights. The Social Pillar is an essential tool for achieving social justice and equality in the EU, which has to lead to increased social convergence both between the Member States and within them. We believe that the principles and the rights provided by the Pillar must become a reality for all citizens. This is a common task requiring cooperation between the EU institutions, Member States, social partners and civil society. The Social Pillar has relaunched an ambitious EU social agenda which, through social dialogue and consistent legislative proposals, has the potential to strengthen the rights of the citizens of the European Union”, declared Lia-Olguța Vasilescu.