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"Of course, some claim that social dialogue and strong industrial relations institutions are barriers to competitiveness. But there is no empirical evidence to back that up. On the contrary — in the Member States where social dialogue is well established and industrial relations institutions are strong, the economic and social situation tends to be more favourable and subject to less strain. In fact, the economies where that is true, are Europe’s most competitive ones.
To put it bluntly, social dialogue is not part of the problem — it is part of the solution to the crisis, and genuine social dialogue has added value in economic and social policy-making. Strong social-dialogue institutions allow the views of all parties to be taken into account, and help identify the sticking points and the areas where people can agree. This can lead to a balanced policy mix that furthers social justice and competitiveness too. That's why the Commission attaches great importance to fostering and supporting high-quality industrial relations."
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"But the social component of economic governance at European level is still underdeveloped. The social partners need to be more closely involved in EU governance in order to shape reforms and contribute to policy responses. That is why the Commission recently presented practical proposals for involving the social partners more closely in policy debates within the euro area. These were elements of the Commission's Communication on the Social Dimension of the EMU, published on 2nd October.
We propose to consult the social partners more systematically at both national and EU level when reform programmes and policy orientations for the European Semester are being worked out. We suggest bolstering existing forums for social dialogue at EU level to generate synergy and improve policy coordination and coherence.
This applies in particular to the three principal venues for dialogue at EU level: the Tripartite Social Summit, the Macro-economic Dialogue, and the autonomous bipartite Social Dialogue Committee.
I am personally committed to promoting the social partners’ involvement as a way of developing more balanced economic and social policy for Economic and Monetary Union and the EU.
At national level, the Commission encourages the Member States to step up the social partners’ involvement in the discussion, design and implementation of reforms. Only this can ensure the European Union comes out of the crisis stronger."