Articles 154 and 155 of the European Treaty (TFEU) enable the social partners organised at the European level to become part of the EU lawmaking system and one of the four pillars of the EU Social Policy. The Treaty says that a) the European Social partners have to be consulted on any initiative potentially affecting their activities b) the European Social Partners can conduct their own social dialogue at the EU level, delivering various outcomes, from joint opinions to agreements leading to legislative measures. At the European sectoral level, 40 Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees were created between 1998 and 2010, covering 145M workers and 6M undertakings. The sectoral European Social Dialogue plays an important role in shaping the social dimension of the EU, delivering more than 200 joint texts.
The launching of the ESSDE was an historical event as it brought the largest public sector in Europe into the European Social Dialogue system, making the social partners co-legislators for their professional area at European level.
Read more ...
The European Social Dialogue takes place at a cross-sectoral level between the ETUC and the cross-sectoral employers' organisations (BusinessEurope, CEEP and UEAPME) as well as at a sectoral level. The cross-sectoral European Social Dialogue has produced several pieces of the EU social legislation, among which the agreements on parental...
Read more ...