EU STRATEGY FOR JOBS AND GROWTH SEEN AS

UNCLAS BRUSSELS 000846 SIPDIS SIPDIS DOL FOR BLS AND ILAB TREASURY FOR IMI STATE FOR DRL/IL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB SOCI PGOV EUN SUBJECT: EU STRATEGY FOR JOBS AND GROWTH SEEN AS BEGINNING TO BEAR FRUITS REF: BRUSSELS 826 ¶1. SUMMARY. At a "Tripartite Social Summit" that preceded the European Council meeting on March 8, the German Presidency, the Commission and high-level employers' and workers' representatives concurred that the "Lisbon" EU Strategy for Jobs and Growth was showing "encouraging results." The meeting underlined the role of the "social partners" in combining flexibility on the labor market with employment security of workers to make further progress in this area. END SUMMARY. ¶2. Speaking at a pre-European Council press conference in Brussels on March 8, German Chancellor/EU chair Angela Merkel reported on her discussions with the social partners about "creating decent jobs" in Europe. Merkel acknowledged that the new EU "buzzword" for the blend of flexible job markets and social security -- the "flexicurity" model as defined in Denmark -- was understood differently by different groups: "We should be careful to get our definitions rights as we are seeking the balance in the marketplace between enough flexibility and enough security," Merkel said. ¶3. The ensuing comments by representatives of the EU-level employers and trade unions organizations immediately proved Merkel's point. Ernest-Antoine Sellihre, speaking on behalf of "Business Europe" (formerly UNICE),highlighted the Nordic countries' success as demonstrating "the benefits of relying less on labor law instruments and more on education and training to ensure worker protection." John Monks, Secretary-General of the ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation),by contrast, voiced worries about the rise of precarious and part-time jobs, saying: "Our objective is to get away from precarious work and people who can't get a decent wage." ¶4. Merkel nevertheless announced that the "social partners" would come up in April with a joint analysis of the challenges of the EU labor markets. EU sources said this would cover macro-economic policy, contractual arrangements, strategies for getting people into work and lifelong learning. The joint analysis would provide input for a Commission's paper on "flexicurity," due for transmission to the EU Council next June. ¶5. Commission President Barroso told the press conference the initial results of the renewed "Lisbon strategy" were "encouraging," noting that the EU was "doing better than the U.S. this year" in terms of the creation of jobs. A Commission press statement further quoted Barroso as saying: "Higher growth rates and lower unemployment are partly due to an economic upturn, but also show the Lisbon reforms are working. Partnership with employers and trade unions at all levels has been critical to this progress. However, efforts cannot slow down now. We must continue our cooperation with social partners, in particular on the flexicurity agenda." ¶6. The backdrop to the "Tripartite" Summit was Europe's recovering economy, where businesses are making profits after years of stagnant growth, leading Merkel to comment: "A central issue to all of these things is how we can create a situation where citizens share in greater profits and benefits. That is what we mean by social economy." Merkel also commented that the "social dialogue" was "not just a formal part of the Spring European Council: It says something about the European social model. We are wedded to it in Germany." McKINLEY