Berlin - Within the parliamentary dimension of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union, a meeting was held among the Chairs of the Committees of National Parliaments and the European Parliament on the topic "For a social and fair Europe".
The meeting, which was held via video conference, was attended by the Chairman of the Labour, Retirement System and Social Partnership Committee, Davorko Vidović.
After the welcoming message of the Vice-President of the German Bundestag Petra Pau, dr. Matthias Bartke, Chairman of the German Bundestag’s Committee on Labour and Social Affairs chaired the first session discussing the European Pillar of Social Rights in the specific circumstances of a pandemic and the implementation of 20 key principles into concrete policies.
Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, addressed the meeting as a keynote speaker, commenting on the recently published Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on adequate minimum wages in the European Union and calling on members of national parliaments and the European Parliament to comment, opinion and bring forward proposals for the adoption of the Action plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights at the 2021 Portugal Summit.
The Chairman of the Labour, Retirement System and Social Partnership Committee, Davorko Vidović, joined the discussion, emphasizing the need to further remove social barriers in order for European society to remain the fairest society in the world. In relation to the crisis against the backdrop of the pandemic, he mentioned some of the measures taken in Croatia to safeguard jobs, but added that in some sectors, layoffs can be expected in the near future.
He supported further development of digital skills, high on the agenda of the German Presidency of the EU Council, and also a priority of the Croatian Presidency, and called for the importance of equal opportunities and access to the labour market.
In the second part of the meeting, the report of the Member of the European Parliament Lara Wolters on the due diligence and corporate accountability for global supply chains was presented.