5 Jul 2015

Has Europe Turned its Back on Work ?

Session 21

In Europe, unemployment has two main components. The first, especially in Southern Europe, is directly linked to the repercussions of the euro crisis. This is cyclical unemployment. The second comes from the incompatibility between company needs and worker qualifications. This is structural unemployment, which affects unskilled workers the hardest.

To reduce cyclical unemployment, European institutions cannot count on direct solidarity between nations. A move toward fiscal federalism seems, more than ever, out of reach. At the present time, the plan for exiting the crisis is based on a division of roles between the ECB and the commission. Will this plan work?

But the action on structural unemployment is at least as important. In 2007, just before the crisis, the unemployment rate in the eurozone was 7%, compared to 4% in the United States. So what is Europe’s role? It is difficult to believe that the EU would have the legitimacy and the political capital to push extensive structural reforms. One option may be to develop a European labour law from scratch, one that is effective, acceptable, and negotiated by European social partners. Workers would have the option –not the obligation– to select this alternative scheme, which would be combined with unemployment insurance partially funded by European funds.

Coordination


David THESMAR

Member

Cercle des économistes

Biography

Moderator


Alexandra BENSAID

Radio journalist

France Inter

Biography

Speakers


Jean-Pierre CLAMADIEU

CEO

Solvay

Biography

Ronald JANSSEN

Advisor

European Trade Union Confederation

Biography

Marwan LAHOUD

Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer

Airbus Group

Biography

Didier REYNDERS

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs

Belgium

Biography

Jean-Claude TRICHET

Former President

European Central Bank

Biography
All the speakers

Contributions

Ronald Janssen – European Failures: Democracy on a Slippery Slope ?