A social Europe, of facade, which looks more like charity
(B2) The layoffs at Volkswagen Forest (near Brussels) suddenly reminded some European officials, who were living on a beautiful cloud of painless economic growth, that they had – oh horror! -, that few instruments are available in the face of relocations and internal restructuring.
Car social Europe is currently an abandoned building site. A body of standards which is still at the minimum state, very often. Scalded by the lack of agreement of the Member States on the modification of the “working time” directive, the Commission dawdles on the revision – however promised – of the directives on European Works Councils or on the Posting of workers. The stated objective is to better apply the existing law. But this is most often left to the goodwill of the Member States. Contrary to other sectors, in matters of taxation for example, where the end of the stick is barely visible; in the social field, it often takes several years for the European Commission to decide to act. And yet, it is often very discreetly. Most often, moreover, we let pass and wait patiently with the weapon at our feet. This is social Europe.
The rest is no better. The Commission's industrial policy - led by Günther Verheugen - is close to Zero. The thinking on restructuring is summed up as: "restructuring is good for the economy". On the premise that what is lost in jobs on one side is regained on the other, we forget the principle of reality: it is not always in the same place or the same people who benefit from the new jobs. Of course there is a nice "restructuring" forum allowing "nice facilitators" to meet every quarter to think about restructuring, how to proceed, how to do it in a less brutal way. But this is not serious.
No reflection exists on the fact that it is often thanks to subsidies, tax reductions and exemptions from charges that these factories have developed. There is also no reflection on the ratio "company profits = job losses for employees". Finally, no reflection on the need for a tax policy to be put in place. No... It is often the same people who, in the back of an office, sheltered by a solid statute of civil servants for life, who explain to you learnedly: "there is no longer a job for life", "adapt -you", "take risks"...
In fact, social Europe according to the team of José-Manuel Barroso, who heads the European Commission, is a bit like the idea of charity and ladies patronesses of the XNUMXth century. "Poor
workers ! If there is anything we can do to help you. Tell us... ".
(NGV)