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EU leaders and social partners highlighted the urgent need to rebuild confidence in European integration at the Tripartite Social Summit. The Summit agreed on the need for further collective efforts to pursue sustainable economic growth, while ensuring social cohesion and quality employment.
President Barroso said: "As Europe emerges from this crisis, our priority must be to strengthen the recovery. To do that we must continue to reform, invest in policies that can provide lasting growth and create better and quality jobs, such as strengthening Europe's industrial base. That's why I'm pleased to meet the social partners before this European Council, which will discuss our joint economic priorities for the year ahead, with a focus on industrial competitiveness, as well as energy and climate issues. It is crucial to have national and European social partners involved in economic decision-making during the European Semester for policy coordination, to ensure our decisions have broad support. We must all work together to rebuild confidence and get our economies moving again."
Emphasising the role of employer and employee representatives at European-level, Commissioner Andor underlined: "Exiting the social crisis and improving the resilience of our European social model are part of our endeavour to ensure a sustainable and job-rich recovery. Social dialogue is a crucial component of our European social model and today it helps to develop a common growth agenda. I firmly believe that social partners, both at EU and at national level, should be actively engaged in the reflection process necessary to ensure the success of the adjustment and reform policies and to build solidarity at the EU level."
The European employer and employee representatives stressed the need for a renewed focus on jobs. They asked for the active involvement of their counterparts at national level in the implementation of national reform plans and in EU governance as a whole. They presented progress achieved so far in implementing their joint work programme for 2012-2014, including the ongoing joint negotiations on employment.
Remarks by President Barroso following the Tripartite Social Summit