Main messages from the Tripartite Social Summit

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

EU leaders and social partners met in Brussels for the Tripartite Social Summit, a twice-yearly forum for dialogue that brings together the leaders of the EU institutions and the European social partners. Today’s discussion focused on restoring Europe’s competitiveness as a place that attracts investment and creates and maintains quality jobs, in the context of an increasingly challenging geopolitical environment.

In particular, the following topics were addressed:

• Strengthening the EU in a challenging geopolitical environment.
• Bringing Europe back on track as an attractive, competitive and investment-friendly location that protects and creates quality jobs.

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said: ‘The spirit of European social dialogue is alive and well and we are determined to keep it strong throughout this mandate. Europe’s social market economy has never been only about markets—it is about people. We can only boost Europe’s competitive edge and ensure that no one is left behind, if we work closely with social partners.‘

The President of the European Council António Costa said: ‘A strong dialogue between trade unions and employers—at European, national, and local levels—is at the core of our European social model. As our economies undergo major transformations, this dialogue is more essential than ever to foster quality jobs, boost our competitiveness, and build a more resilient and sustainable future together.’

On behalf of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, the Polish minister for European Union affairs,Adam Szłapka said: ‘Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security—no one has a stronger stake in Europe’s safety and stability than Europeans themselves. Security is not just about strengthening our defence and resilience; it is also about positioning Europe as a competitive global leader. Attracting investment while protecting and creating high-quality jobs is essential to driving sustainable growth and innovation. In this effort, the dialogue with social partners plays a crucial role, ensuring that our policies are inclusive and reflect the voice of civil society.’

BusinessEurope’s President Fredrik Persson, representing employers (BusinessEurope, SGI Europe, SMEunited), said: ‘Burdensome regulation, high energy prices and labour shortages continue to hold Europe back. In a highly uncertain global environment, strengthening the economic backbone of the European Union is more urgent than ever. The Clean Industrial Deal, the first omnibus proposals and the Union of Skills go in the right direction but will not be enough. There can only be quality jobs with quality enterprises that can act in an investment-friendly environment. Putting in place an ambitious burden reduction program and ensuring real lower energy costs is a must to deliver tangible improvements in the EU investment location. European employers are ready to play their part as social partners in this endeavour, as pledged in the recently signed pact for European social dialogue.’

The General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Esther Lynch, noted: ‘In these uncertain times, the EU must drive its own agenda, with a strong European industrial strategy for every sector and region at its core. Stability can only be secured when working people have quality jobs and higher wages. Boosting investments and wages is crucial to strengthening domestic demand. The full suspension of the EU fiscal rules is a must. Also, the EU needs a strong investment facility coupled with a ‘SURE 2.0′ instrument to provide immediate protection against job losses. This is no time for blank cheques and all companies that received public support must be required to deliver quality jobs in return.‘

Moreover, the European social partners jointly stated, in the context of today’s summit, that: ‘The geopolitical situation increasingly challenges the European Union, putting EU institutions, member states, workers and enterprises under significant strain, at a moment when it is still recovering from previous crises and managing different transitions. The European social partners are convinced that Europe can only weather these developments while standing together, maintaining unity and solidarity, and taking action to reinforce Europe as an attractive, competitive and investment-friendly location that protects and creates quality jobs. The Tripartite Social Summit gathers EU leaders and the European social partners twice a year to discuss crucial decisions for the future of our continent. These exchanges at the highest level are more important than ever in a period where all Europeans need to join forces to strengthen the European Union to ensure economic and social progress. The European social partners call on the Commission and EU leaders to keep social partners at both European and national level fully involved in all relevant deliberations following the geopolitical uncertainties and transformation processes.’

The views cited in this text are those of the individual / organisation concerned and do not collectively constitute the point of view of the European Commission.

Visit the meeting page

President Ursula von der Leyen‘s statement at the press conference concluding the summit will be available here.