Der Präsident. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Anfrage zur mündlichen Beantwortung an die Kommission über die Umkehrung der negativen sozialen Folgen der COVID-19-Pandemie von Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová, Dennis Radtke, Manuel Pizarro, Atidzhe Alieva-Veli, Elena Lizzi, Katrin Langensiepen, Elżbieta Rafalska und Leila Chaibi im Namen des Ausschusses für Beschäftigung und soziale Angelegenheiten [2021/2734(RSP)] (O-000044/2021 - B9-0032/21).
Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová, author. – Mr President, dear colleagues, dear Commissioner Schmit, I don’t know where you get all the energy actually at this time, you know. I’m a big admirer.
Ladies and gentlemen, the economic crisis that was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the lives of all of us, especially on the vulnerable groups. It has led to deepening inequalities. It has led to increasing numbers of people that are at risk of poverty. It has shed a light on existing imbalances and accelerated dangerous social trends, especially on the vulnerable groups.
This past year we have, fortunately, slowly started recovering from the detrimental social and economic effects, but joint efforts and strong political will are still needed to ensure a just and equitable recovery that will leave no one behind in the social Europe that we all want to create and build.
Therefore, I ask the Commission, how will you work together with the Member States to address the social consequences of the pandemic, protect the rights and improve the situation of the most vulnerable groups?
Addressing efficiently, and successfully, the consequences is, however, not possible without quality disaggregated data. How will the Commission work to ensure the timely collection of quality disaggregated data on the consequences of the pandemic on the employment and also on the social situation within the European Union, especially among the most vulnerable groups?
Important financial and political instruments have already been available and introduced, such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and, of course, the mechanism SURE. It is, however, not enough to make those instruments only available, they have to be properly implemented and they have to be properly monitored.
Therefore, I would like to know how will the Commission ensure that national recovery and resilience plans are duly implemented and contribute to the objectives that were stated in the RRF regulation, in particular in terms of quality, employment, poverty reduction and upward social and economic convergence? Furthermore, how will the Commission evaluate and monitor the implementation of the impact of the mechanism SURE?
The development of skills and competences, in line with labour market needs, is also essential in the context of EU recovery and also with the digital and green transition. So how will the Commission further coordinate and support the development of those skills and of those competences?
Finally, let me turn to the future, because future crises for various reasons are unavoidable and we need to be prepared for them. Therefore, my final question to the Commission today would be, how will you work with the Member States to improve EU actions to enhance the social resilience and sustainability of the recovery of the European economies and our better response to the future crises?
Nicolas Schmit,Member of the Commission. – Mr President, indeed, the pandemic has had a dramatic impact on our economies and societies. It has exposed and deepened existing inequalities, some of them inherited from the previous financial crisis. But this time, faced with this unprecedented crisis, the EU has reacted swiftly and boldly. Swift and coordinated action by the EU and the Member States helped protect lives and incomes. And this time – and this makes the real difference – Europe has shown solidarity.
While the EU and national action has significantly cushioned the social impact of the pandemic, vulnerable groups have indeed been hit disproportionately, highlighting the need to have adequate and well-performing social protection systems. As we want to rebuild in a more sustainable and resilient way we need to ensure that the recovery is fair and inclusive. The European Pillar of Social Rights is our guiding compass in this endeavour.
I remember the new headline targets for 2030 on employment, adult learning and poverty reduction, and I try to mention a certain number of measures which show that we had in mind precisely more vulnerable groups, and among the vulnerable groups are women, because the majority of the frontline workers were women. In spite of that, and this has been recalled this morning by the President, they are underpaid, badly paid, their work is not recognised as it should be, and therefore we have made a proposal on pay transparency, because applauding the frontline workers, applauding the women who every day try to secure our health system, is not enough.
The second one is the young – especially the young – and this was also mentioned this morning by the President, with a new initiative especially addressing the difficult situation of the less-favoured young – those who might not be at university, not in apprenticeships, who might be unemployed, very often the so-called NEETs – to give them new opportunities, and therefore we have launched a strengthened, a better Youth Guarantee, which addresses particularly their problems and helps to bring them back into the labour market and bring them back also for being skilled.
A European Child Guarantee. This now has to be implemented. This is crucial because we know that children have suffered a lot, especially disadvantaged or children from disadvantaged backgrounds, from this pandemic, and therefore it’s very important now to implement the Child Guarantee swiftly also with the European funds which have been included in the ESF+.
We have proposed a dynamic active labour market policy, which we call EASE, Effective Active Support to Employment, precisely to bring people back into a job in a job market, a labour market, which is changing, and now we discover there is unemployment, on the one hand, and there are a lot of shortages on the labour market in some countries, so we have really to help people and especially also young people, vulnerable workers, to find a job, and here active labour market policies through reskilling, job-to-job transition and hiring incentives are extremely important.
Next. Occupational safety and health strategy to protect workers because we all know that one of the places with the highest risk is the working place, and the directive on adequate minimum wages is also a way to value work and help those who cannot make a decent living out of their work and their wage.
We will continue on that. We will work on the minimum income recommendation. We will also try to have an initiative on distributional impact assessment of the RRF, but also in the context of the Fit for 55.
Question number 2, the data. Yes, I agree, we need the right data, we need better data, we need more precise data, to have an evidence-based policy, and this means that we have to work on and improve also the collection of data with Eurostat and the Member States, and the regional dimension in that context is also very important.
On the RRF. I think this is a major achievement and this has been very much underlined this morning by the President, and here also it is clear that Member States have understood that the RRF is an extremely important tool to improve social conditions because the consequence of the pandemic has been economic, it has been financial, but it has also been mainly social, and therefore a lot of funding, about 30% of the funds of the RRF, are allocated to social objectives, these being education, health, bringing people back into jobs. All this is extremely important. So I think we will monitor this, obviously, we will see what will be the impact of using the RRF money.
The money is certainly in the ESF+, precisely focused also on vulnerable groups, but also in InvestEU. We have EUR 2.8 billion for InvestEU. We have to promote social investment. This goes along with reforms, this goes along with structural reforms, and therefore we need better instruments precisely to foster and to promote this social investment.
SURE has been mentioned. Yes, SURE is a big success. We have helped a lot of people to keep their jobs. We talk about 30 million. But what for me is very important is that through the SURE instrument we did not just innovate – because it’s the first time social bonds of some kind were created – but we helped all the countries, all the Member States, to introduce a short-time work scheme, which they did. Every Member State introduced a short-time work scheme, so there was not this kind of inequality – some doing it, some not being able for financial reasons to do it – and this kept Europe together and improved the situation of our labour market Europe-wide.
Certainly, we will continue evaluating SURE, 94% of the money has been allocated. Now we look at how it has been used and certainly in September we will come back with a new report on the impact and also the way how SURE has been implemented.
Skills are key. We are in a changing world and this has been accelerated by the pandemic. We have seen digitalisation everywhere, so skills shortages are very much on the digital side and therefore this Commission has pushed very much on skills, on the skills side, with the European Skills Agenda, with a pact for skills. Now we will make a proposal on individual learning accounts, and what is also important is the Porto objective – 60% of all workers should be part every year of a lifelong learning scheme, and especially I insist on those with the lowest level of skills because their jobs are the most threatened.
Finally, further work with Member States since the very onset of the coronavirus virus outbreak. The Commission has coordinated a common European crisis response. We have to come back to the Semester. We have to really follow up on what has been decided. We have to analyse the shortcomings in the Member States as a consequence of the coronavirus crisis, because we all know that even if this pandemic will end, hopefully soon, we will have the scars of this pandemic. So we have to continue working on these scars through very effective measures.
Tomáš Zdechovský, za skupinu PPE. – Pane předsedající, pane komisaři, vážené dámy, vážení pánové, už Aristoteles řekl, že člověk je bytost společenská. Tak se pojďme do těch lidí, do nás lidí trošku vcítit. Nemluvme tady o tom, co Evropa udělala pro lidi, ale mluvme o tom, co ti lidé zažili. Tahle debata má být také o určitém přístupu a změně našeho myšlení. Měla by nám něco ukázat. Není to jenom o tom, že budeme tady promlouvat, jak Evropská unie je dobrá. Vždyť některé věci prostě nefungovaly a musíme se z nich poučit.
Jak existuje společnost, když se nemůžeme setkávat? Co to bylo, když jsme si nemohli vzájemně vyměňovat svoje názory a byli jsme odloučeni v sociální izolaci? Jaké to bylo pro rodiny, rodiny s dětmi, maminky, které musely vedle svého zaměstnání, nebo i tatínkové, zvládat svoji práci, kterou dělali na sto a více procent? A musíme si také říci, že pandemie zasáhla ty nejzranitelnější, tzn. seniory. Je strašně důležité si připomenout ty příběhy štědrosti ze všech států Evropské unie. V České republice lidé šili roušky, mladí lidé chodili nakupovat starým lidem, byla tady spousta projektů na digitalizaci. Já sám, když jsem pomáhal v nemocnici, tak jsem zprostředkovával skrze mobilní telefony kontakt seniorů s jejich dětmi. A můžu vám říct, že tyto příběhy jsou velmi dojemné a dodnes mi z nich běhá mráz po zádech. Lidé, kteří neviděli své příbuzné několik měsíců, se s nimi prostě konečně mohli potkat.
A já bych chtěl říct, že z toho negativního bychom se měli poučit. Celá pandemie se nakonec určitým způsobem zvládla a je na nás, jak se z ní do budoucna poučíme.
Manuel Pizarro, em nome do Grupo S&D. – Senhor Presidente, Senhor Comissário, não podemos dissociar a recuperação das consequências negativas da pandemia de Covid-19 no domínio social daquilo que são as metas da União Europeia na área do emprego e da proteção social a longo prazo, absolutamente vitais para o futuro do projeto europeu e para conquistar a confiança dos cidadãos.
Essas metas estão plasmadas no Plano de Ação para o Pilar Europeu dos Direitos Sociais, adotado por unanimidade na cimeira do Porto, em maio de 2021. Aliás, o regulamento do mecanismo de recuperação e resiliência define objetivos claros no domínio social, do emprego e da formação. Mais do que isso, o mecanismo determina que os Estados—Membros explicam como é que os planos nacionais vão contribuir para a materialização dos princípios do Pilar Europeu dos Direitos Sociais.
Importa, por isso, clarificar como é que a Comissão vai monitorizar e assegurar esse contributo. Importa também perceber como é que a Comissão vai garantir que a transição verde e digital, financiada pelo Mecanismo de Recuperação e Resiliência, vai concorrer para reduzir a pobreza e para promover o bem—estar dos europeus.
Finalmente, importa perceber como é que a Comissão vai acautelar a coerência entre as reformas sociais inscritas no mecanismo de recuperação e resiliência e as orientações emanadas do Semestre Europeu para evitar contradições que minam a credibilidade do projeto europeu.
O título desta pergunta fala em reversão das consequências sociais da pandemia, mas nós não podemos contentar-nos com uma mera reversão. A ambição da União Europeia não pode ser apenas a de restaurar a situação social anterior à pandemia. A nossa missão tem de ser a saída desta crise com mais e melhor proteção social e com mais e melhor empregos.
Атидже Алиева-Вели, от името на групата Renew. – Г-н Председател, уважаеми г-н Комисар, COVID-19 ни изправи пред една наистина нова, различна реалност. Бързият и масов шок от коронавируса и мерките за неговото овладяване доведоха до силно свиване на глобалната икономика.
Пандемията се превърна в предизвикателство за запазване на прехраната и начина на живот на гражданите. Кризата оказа негативен ефект върху много сфери на дейност, но едно от най-съществените си отражения даде върху пазара на труда. По време на тази здравна криза приоритет на целия Съюз беше да осигурим адекватна защита на работните места и работниците, както и техните права. Близо година и половина след избухването на този феномен пред нас все още стоят много въпроси. Как ще помогнем на жените, които представляват 75% от заетите в сектора за предоставяне на грижи във ЕС? Жените, които са мнозинство и в други сектори, които останаха отворени по време на пандемията, например сектора на продажбите и при грижите на деца. По данни на Евростат около 84% от работещите жени са заети в сектора на услугите, който беше силно засегнат от кризата. А какви допълнителни мерки ще се приемат за хилядите младежи, които останаха без работа или тепърва започват да я търсят?
Г-н Комисар, искрено се надявам да подобрим положението и на другите уязвими групи, като хората с уврежданията, възрастните и работещите при несигурни условия. Инструмента SURE, благодарение на който България получи 511 млн. евро, бе достъпен за страните с цел борба с отрицателните икономически и социални последици от пандемията. Ползотворно ли бяха използвани средствата? В контекста на зеления цифров преход много работни места ще бъдат засегнати. Нужно е да сме сигурни, че се подготвяме правилно и навременно за новите форми на труд и работни условия. Очаквам с нетърпение отговорите.
Claude Gruffat, au nom du groupe Verts/ALE. – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Commissaire, Madame, merci pour votre rapport. Chers collègues, chaque fois que nous sommes confrontés à une crise, on nous rappelle aussi cette vérité inconfortable: l’impact de la crise est extrêmement inégal. C’est également le cas avec cette pandémie que nous traversons, où les mesures de confinement ont entraîné récession économique, chômage de masse, détérioration des conditions de travail, augmentation des inégalités et exclusion sociale.
Les statistiques sont déprimantes: selon l’Organisation internationale du travail, au quatrième trimestre de 2020, le nombre d’heures de travail dans le monde a diminué de 4,6 %. Cela représente 130 millions d’emplois à plein temps et ces pertes ont été près de quatre fois plus importantes que pendant la crise financière de 2008.
Pour ne rien arranger, les services de santé et les services publics de nombreux États membres sont toujours affectés par des mesures d’austérité. Ces États membres ne sont donc pas en mesure de fournir des services de santé adéquats à la population ni de protéger les travailleurs des secteurs de santé et des soins. Nous ne devrions pas nous préoccuper uniquement de profits, de stabilité et de croissance. Il est clair que l’Union ne pourra surmonter la crise et se préparer aux crises futures que si nous construisons des économies plus résilientes sur un plan social, économique et environnemental.
Il suffit de jeter un coup d’œil dans les rues. Il y a encore au moins 700 000 personnes dans l’Union qui dorment dans la rue ou dans des centres d’hébergement pour sans-abri. Avec le groupe des Verts, nous demandons à la Commission de prendre des mesures fondées sur des preuves en développant des indicateurs sur le sans-abrisme et un cadre pour suivre les progrès et faire des comptes rendus au Parlement. Nous devons faire plus et nous devons le faire maintenant.
Guido Reil, im Namen der ID-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Wir reden heute über die Umkehrung der negativen sozialen Folgen der COVID-19-Pandemie. Aber reden wir tatsächlich über die Folgen der Krankheit COVID—19? Ich glaube nicht. Ich glaube, wir reden hier und heute über die Folgen der Maßnahmen, die unsere Regierungen beschlossen haben.
Und da reden wir in erster Linie über die Nebenwirkungen des Lockdowns. Und ich möchte ganz deutlich feststellen: Dieser Lockdown war planlos, und er war sinnlos. Das deutsche Gesundheitssystem zum Beispiel war zu keinem Zeitpunkt auch nur am Rande der Überlastung. Und gleichzeitig haben wir mitten in dieser Krise Krankenhäuser geschlossen und Intensivbetten abgebaut! Das sind leider Fakten. Und nun reden wir über die Folgen, über die Folgen der Maßnahmen, die Regierungen beschlossen haben für unsere Bevölkerung. Und diese Maßnahmen und diese Folgen sind tatsächlich verheerend.
Die richtigen Gruppen wurden angesprochen, Herr Kommissar, Sie haben die Kinder angesprochen. Kitas und Schulen hätten niemals geschlossen werden dürfen! Es war medizinisch in keinster Weise begründet, und die Folgen sind katastrophal. Übergewicht und Konzentrationsstörungen bei Kindern sind heute Normalität.
Und, Herr Kommissar, Sie haben die Frauen angesprochen. Die Frauen haben tatsächlich die meiste Last getragen. Sie mussten ihre Kinder erziehen. Viele sind alleinerziehend. Die, die nicht alleinerziehend sind, haben massive Probleme bekommen, in ihren Beziehungen zum Beispiel. Die Zahl der häuslichen Gewalt ist explodiert. In meinem Heimatbundesland Nordrhein-Westfalen konnte von November bis Januar keine einzige Frau und kein einziges Kind in Frauenhäusern aufgenommen werden, weil die Plätze völlig überlastet waren.
Also wir alle, wenn wir uns als Politiker sehen, wir haben diese Probleme gemacht. Und diesen Mist müssen wir jetzt ausbaden, und zwar nicht die Krankheit. Wir waren es, unsere Entscheidungen, die uns zu diesen Problemen geführt haben, die jetzt die Menschen – und tatsächlich wurde das auch wieder richtig gesagt –, die Schwächsten der Schwachen ausbaden müssen, nicht die Starken, die haben profitiert in dieser Krise.
Also ich fordere ganz klar: Lasst uns in Zukunft eine Politik mit Verstand machen, mit Augenmaß. Und nie mehr Lockdown!
Leila Chaibi, au nom du groupe The Left. – Monsieur le Président, chers collègues, Monsieur le Commissaire, ce matin, la présidente de la Commission européenne a annoncé que 2022 serait l’année de la jeunesse et, en cette rentrée, les étudiants de retour à la fac seront ravis de l’apprendre, eux qui souffrent des conséquences sociales du COVID-19, avec des taux de chômage et de pauvreté énormes.
Alors qu’en France, le président Macron a jugé que c’était le moment de baisser les aides au logement pour les étudiants et de supprimer les repas à 1 euro dans les universités et alors que le coût de la vie étudiante explose, ce dont les jeunes ont besoin, ce n’est pas d’un coup de com avec de belles affiches avec des jeunes aux quatre coins de l’Europe, et puis avec le joli logo de l’Union européenne à côté. Non, ce dont ils ont besoin, c’est des mesures concrètes et il n’y en avait aucune. Zéro, walou, rien, nada dans le discours d’Ursula von der Leyen ce matin, pas plus qu’il n’y avait de mesures sociales, d’ailleurs.
Il y a urgence. Les solutions, elles, sont à portée de main: un revenu minimum pour tous dès 18 ans, la construction de logements étudiants, des emplois de qualité. Décrétons l’urgence sociale à tous les niveaux. Et je compte sur vous, Monsieur le Commissaire Schmit, pour faire passer le message à la Commission européenne.
Ivan Vilibor Sinčić (NI). – Poštovani predsjedavajući, kad se izglasavala COVID putovnica, što je ono bilo objašnjenje Europske komisije? Bit će to samo pomoćno sredstvo za kretanje, neće biti uvjet. A u što se pretvorilo to pomoćno sredstvo? Pretvorilo se u sredstvo ucjene i prisile. Pretvorilo se u ono na što smo svi mi koji smo glasali protiv te putovnice i upozoravali da će se pretvoriti, u sredstvo segregacije, pa tako u Sloveniji sad ne možete u bolnicu ili trgovački centar bez putovnice. U Italiji se sada govori da se neće moći na radno mjesto i u javnom i privatnom sektoru bez te putovnice. A o Francuskoj bolje da i ne pričam.
Što je još sredstvo segregacije? To je maska. Za zdrave ljude je beskorisna i štetna. U Hrvatskoj u Krapinskim Toplicama osnovnoškolac Nikola Gaćina koji ne želi nositi masku jer mu ometa normalno funkcioniranje u školi ne može, dakle, slušati nastavu. Samovoljni ravnatelj iz vladajuće stranke ne dozvoljava mu da uopće uđe u školsku zgradu, a unajmio je i zaštitare.
Djetetu se brani pravo na obrazovanje. Krše mu se ustavna prava. Ovo se sve svodi na ucjenu i prisilu i jedino se građanskim otporom ovome može stati na kraj jer ucjenjivaču što više popuštate, on je gori.
Daniel Buda (PPE). – Domnule președinte, mulțumesc. „Nimeni nu trebuie să fie lăsat în urmă” este principiul care stă la baza acțiunilor noastre. Cu toate acestea, observăm că actuala criza generată de COVID-19 a avut efecte catastrofale pentru economia europeană, afectând nivelul de trai al cetățenilor, în special al celor mai vulnerabili.
Piața forței de muncă a fost puternic impactată, numărul persoanelor expuse riscului de sărăcie sau de excluziune socială a crescut în mod dramatic. Inegalitățile sociale crescânde s-au aprofundat, afectându-i în special pe angajații cu salarii mici, dar și pe familiile cu venituri reduse. Șomajul a crescut în mod alarmant în rândul cetățenilor Uniunii Europene, iar milioane de europeni nu își pot asigura coșul zilnic de cumpărături sau se află în imposibilitatea de a-și plăti utilitățile.
În Europa de Est, 25 de milioane de copii au fost în imposibilitatea de a beneficia de o formă de învățământ, ca urmare a lipsei accesului la echipamente și tehnologie. Din păcate, numărul alarmant de copii care nu au avut acces la învățământul la distanță va duce la o slabă pregătire profesională a acestora, cu un impact devastator în viitor asupra calității forței de muncă și, în final, un impact negativ asupra economiilor din toate statele Uniunii Europene.
Trebuie să trecem, așadar, astăzi de la logica discursurilor la logica faptelor. Resursele financiare puse la dispoziția statelor membre de către Comisia Europeană trebuie să fie folosite în mod judicios. În același timp, trebuie să reținem un lucru foarte clar: crearea de noi locuri de muncă bine plătite și consolidarea celor existente este cea mai bună formă de protecție socială. Comisia Europeană trebuie să se asigure că fondurile europene destinate statelor membre, fie că discutăm de planul de recuperare și reziliență, fie că discutăm de cadrul financiar multianual, sunt folosite pentru combaterea excluziunii sociale, a sărăciei iar acest lucru presupune, așa cum am mai spus, locuri de muncă bine plătite, în fiecare regiune a Uniunii Europene.
Și vă întreb, așadar, domnule comisar, cum se va asigura Comisia Europeană că acest lucru va fi implementat în mod eficient în fiecare stat membru al Uniunii Europene?
Alicia Homs Ginel (S&D). – Señor presidente, comisario Schmit, hace algo más de año y medio la sociedad comenzaba a afrontar su mayor desafío hasta la fecha. El impacto de la pandemia de COVID—19 en nuestras economías y mercados laborales ponía en entredicho la fortaleza de nuestros sistemas de bienestar y de protección social.
Hemos conseguido adaptarnos y estamos saliendo adelante, en parte por haber dejado atrás las erróneas políticas conservadoras de austeridad, apostando por una recuperación más social, más inclusiva y más sostenible que pone a las personas en el centro. Sin embargo, esta capacidad de adaptación y resiliencia no se distribuye por igual. Las condiciones socioeconómicas son un factor determinante, como bien nos ha mostrado la pandemia de COVID-19 cada día durante el año pasado.
Todo ello hace necesario recopilar datos desglosados de calidad sobre las consecuencias de la pandemia a nivel laboral y a nivel social, asegurar que las inversiones de los planes nacionales de recuperación y resiliencia contribuyen a la consecución de los objetivos del pilar europeo de derechos sociales y actualizar, por ejemplo y de manera muy necesaria, las orientaciones para las políticas de empleo de los Estados miembros para reflejar mejor la cambiante realidad laboral que ha acentuado la pandemia.
Por todas estas razones y otras muchas más, necesitamos propuestas políticas progresistas, también legislativas, que garanticen una recuperación democrática, inclusiva y socialmente justa. Todo empleo debe basarse en la igualdad de derechos, buenas condiciones de trabajo y salarios justos para eliminar la pobreza de los trabajadores y proporcionar un nivel de vida digno. La precariedad no puede ser la base para los trabajos del mañana.
Dragoş Pîslaru (Renew). – Mr President, the most important strength of Europe is not the millions of Europe in its budget; it’s the millions of people, defining every moment of its past, present and future. As President Ursula von der Leyen rightfully said today, in this same room, they are our spirit and our soul. But there is one part of our soul that needs to be taken care of – caressed, supported and encouraged, especially after the pandemic. It’s our next generation, our children and youth.
Strategic investment in children and youth should become a new norm. This is why Renew promoted in the Recovery and Resilience Facility a pillar dedicated to that. Member States did not really rise to our expectations on the matter, and the Commission knows that, and we hope that the Commission will still keep the bar high in the implementation phase.
It is essential to secure cohesive societies, labour stability and economic prosperity in the future, but care also needs to define all citizens concerned in these uncertain times. In this sense, we need to listen to our entrepreneurs, to our workers, to our self—employed, to vulnerable people across Europe looking for jobs to exit poverty.
Many people feel increasingly threatened by the current crisis, which is fuelling inequalities, poverty, indebtedness and unemployment. Populist and extremist politicians tap such fears irresponsibly in a world of fake news and lies. The question is, Commissioner, how will the Commission ensure that these endeavours related to the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Social Agenda will be implemented?
Antonio Maria Rinaldi (ID). – Signor Presidente, signor Commissario, onorevoli colleghi, la contrazione economica causata dalla pandemia ha avuto un impatto sociale ed occupazionale drammatico in tutta l'Unione europea, specialmente in alcuni settori economici.
L'attuale quadro normativo è chiaramente insufficiente: c'è estremo bisogno di flessibilità e di collaborazione con gli Stati membri, anche a costo di posticipare altri ambiziosi obiettivi che non tengono sufficientemente conto delle problematiche correlate a ridurre le asimmetrie createsi nel mondo del lavoro.
Lo stesso strumento SURE non ha garantito copertura a tutte le categorie: ad esempio i lavoratori nel settore delle piattaforme digitali, che hanno avuto un'enorme espansione nell'ultimo anno e mezzo, non hanno le stesse tutele delle altre categorie di lavoratori. Da una parte crea opportunità riducendo le barriere all'ingresso nel mondo del lavoro, ma dall'altra solleva forti preoccupazioni per le condizioni in cui gli stessi esercitano la loro professione.
Inoltre gli effetti della pandemia hanno determinato enormi sperequazioni tra categorie di lavoratori, sia dipendenti che autonomi, e fra contratti a tempo indeterminato e determinato. Tra le conseguenze della pandemia abbiamo purtroppo assistito a situazioni non compatibili con i livelli di benessere sociale raggiunto negli anni nei paesi dell'Unione, come ad esempio le interminabili file dei cittadini davanti alle entrate di associazioni umanitarie pur di assicurarsi un pasto caldo, malgrado qualche mese prima godessero di redditi più che dignitosi.
È compito e dovere prioritario della Commissione monitorare tali disuguaglianze e mettere in atto strumenti efficaci di correzione per eliminarle.
Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (The Left). – Señor presidente, que la pandemia ha tenido consecuencias devastadoras ya lo sabemos. La pregunta ahora es si vamos a aprovechar la recuperación para luchar contra las desigualdades que se han acentuado durante este año.
Si la respuesta es sí, necesitamos más justicia social con salarios mínimos suficientes, un seguro europeo de desempleo, la suspensión definitiva del Pacto de Estabilidad y medidas de protección social, como los ERTE en España. Más justicia fiscal, acabando con los paraísos fiscales y el dumping entre Estados y dentro de ellos, y apoyando el impuesto mínimo de sociedades del 15 %, algo que llevamos años diciendo.
También necesitamos menos brechas de género en los salarios, las pensiones y el reparto de los cuidados; esperamos que la futura estrategia europea de los cuidados sirva para acabar con ellas.
Y, por último, es necesaria una transición ecológica que cambie de verdad nuestra forma de producir y consumir con más soberanía energética y alimentaria y que no sea un negocio para los de siempre.
Todo esto hace falta, si la respuesta es sí. Si la respuesta es no, pues mejor nos vamos a casa.
Jiří Pospíšil (PPE). – Pane předsedající, dámy a pánové, já jsem velmi pozorně poslouchal celou debatu a děkuji panu komisaři za jeho vyjádření. On zde hovořil o zranitelných osobách stejně jako někteří z vás o ženách, mladých lidech. Já s tím určitě souhlasím, to je okruh, na který bychom se měli zaměřit, ale chtěl bych ještě doplnit tuto debatu o myšlenku, že za sociálně ohrožené já osobně považuji i ty nejmenší podnikatele, živnostníky, kteří živí sami sebe, svoji rodinu, případně jednoho nebo dva zaměstnance, a potom i třeba svobodná povolání v oblasti kultury. Opět lidé, kteří živí sami sebe, nejsou v zaměstnaneckém poměru a krize COVID-19 s jejich pozicí často velmi otřásla. Říkám to ze své zkušenosti z Prahy, kde jsem zastupitelem, spravuji velké muzeum výtvarného umění a vidím, jak byla v oblasti kultury právě pro ty, kteří se živí kulturou, ta doba velmi sociálně depresivní a jak poškodila sociální statuty. Takže já prosím i na tuto oblast se, pane komisaři, zaměřme.
Chci upozornit, že ta řešení, která jste zde přednesl, ve velké míře určitě pomohou, ale pozor na to, abychom v rámci snahy pomoci těm sociálně nejzranitelnějším, třeba právě příkladem té minimální mzdy, o které jste hovořil, pokud by měla mít jednotný evropský charakter, tak chci upozornit, že třeba v mé zemi, jako je Česká republika, by toto vedlo k ohrožení těch nejmenších živnostníků, kteří zaměstnávají jednoho nebo dva zaměstnance a případný evropský standard minimální mzdy by vedl k tomu, že by třeba museli propustit toho jednoho nebo dva zaměstnance a že by to tedy naopak mohlo přinést určité problémy. Takže já vaši vizi vítám, ale jenom drobně upozorňuji na určité aspekty, že nejen ženy, muži, zaměstnanci, ale i právě ti nejmenší, co podnikají sami na sebe, byli v této krizi ohroženi.
Milan Brglez (S&D). – Spoštovani predsedujoči, spoštovani komisar, kolegice in kolegi!
Predsednica Komisije je v današnjem govoru o stanju v Uniji dala dobro iztočnico za današnjo razpravo. Osredotočila se je na mlade in na previsoko ceno, ki so jo morali plačati med pandemijo in iz solidarnosti do starejših. Dejstvo je, da so v številnih državah, žal tudi v Sloveniji, da so šole ostale najdlje zaprte in da so jih zapirali najprej. Zato je moje vprašanje Komisiji, kaj, poleg simbolnega leta, misli konkretno ponuditi otrokom in mladim, da nadoknadimo ta izgubljeni čas in dostop do izobraževanja. Ali še konkretneje: kaj misli storiti za mlade iz tistih delavskih družin, kjer se je tveganje revščine in socialne izključenosti med pandemijo še povečalo. Programi za mlade so sicer dobra priložnost, vendar žal ni dosegljivo vsem. Še zlasti ne mladim iz prikrajšanih in družbeno zapostavljenih skupin. Ti se namreč ne kvalificirajo za dodatna evropska sredstva, ker sami ali njihove družine, nimajo dovolj sredstev, da bi lahko sploh v njih participirali.
Zato ni dovolj zgolj s kozmetičnimi popravki se ukvarjati s socialnimi posledicami in prislanjati socialne vidike na različne strategije in sklade, ampak je potrebno v središče načrtov za obnovo in odpornost postaviti družbeno enakost in socialno pravičnost.
Ne bo dovolj narediti zgolj kljukice na nacionalne načrte, ker omenijo evropski steber socialnih pravic ali pa to zgolj omeniti v govoru predsednice Komisije, ampak je po mnenju Evropskega parlamenta in moje skupine nujno, da socialni vidiki postanejo obvezni in merljivi del mehanizma za okrevanje in odpornost.
Maite Pagazaurtundúa (Renew). – Señor presidente, comisario Schmit, primero me gustaría felicitarle por su fuerza y su convicción a estas horas de la noche.
Hasta la fecha, la pandemia de COVID ha causado más de 750 000 muertes en la Unión y ha puesto a prueba cada engranaje, cada pieza del engranaje social y de las políticas públicas, amplificando las crisis, las amenazas, los retos de nuestro tiempo. Todos los que hemos pasado por aquí —hablándole, pidiéndole— hemos hablado de muchísimas cosas, pero es casi inabarcable.
Por eso, lo que tenemos que concluir en consecuencia es que, por lo menos, tenemos que reforzar los pilares de las políticas públicas para el futuro, porque algunas de las cosas que están pasando y que han pasado deben ser absolutamente irrepetibles.
Yo solo voy a citar tres: en primer lugar, no podemos ignorar el impacto del virus entre los más vulnerables, nuestros mayores en los primeros momentos. Aunque es muy duro mirar atrás a este respecto, tenemos que abordar el triaje para que no vuelva a ocurrir jamás.
En segundo lugar, en el caso de las personas en residencias por discapacidad, por edad —por lo que sea—, tenemos que estudiar la absoluta situación de aislamiento emocional para que nunca más pueda volver a ocurrir algo así.
En tercer lugar, en cuanto a los menores, hay algo muy urgente que tenemos que hacer: los menores de entornos desfavorecidos en situación de pobreza tecnológica se vieron fuera del sistema educativo y es el momento ahora, urgentemente, de que los Estados miembros hagan algo para que no haya ese fracaso escolar.
Así que, comisario, fuerza y al toro.
Maxette Pirbakas (ID). – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Commissaire, je souhaitais m’exprimer ce soir devant vous en tant que député européen des outre-mer pour parler des conséquences négatives de la pandémie de COVID-19 sur le plan social dans les régions ultrapériphériques, et plus particulièrement dans nos cinq départements, c’est-à-dire la Guadeloupe, la Martinique, la Guyane, la Réunion et Mayotte.
La crise que traversent nos territoires vient s’ajouter à la faiblesse économique et sociale qui existait déjà avant. Sans évoquer l’incompétence du gouvernement Macron en France. Les entreprises ultramarines ont des charges fiscales et sociales plus importantes que la métropole. Cela crée une double conséquence sociale pour nos départements d’outre-mer. Il faut que vous le sachiez. Les entreprises ultramarines ont des charges fiscales et sociales vraiment plus importantes que la métropole, cela crée une double conséquence. L’article 349 du traité sur le fonctionnement de l’Union européenne ne suffit pas. Nous subissons une crise sociale majeure qui est la conséquence de l’épidémie, qui est toujours plus importante dans nos îles du fait de la situation géographique et de la situation sanitaire.
Je vais compléter la question orale de ce soir en ajoutant des questions très simples, Monsieur le Commissaire: déclencherez-vous un plan d’urgence sociale pour aider l’ensemble de mes compatriotes des régions ultrapériphériques de France? Comptez-vous mettre en œuvre des moyens pour assurer la reprise économique et sociale de nos cinq départements d’outre-mer? En matière de santé, allez-vous nous aider à financer des investissements dans le domaine médical, notamment pour l’hôpital public, qui a des besoins humains et matériels appropriés face aux pandémies d’aujourd’hui et à celles de demain? Que comptez-vous faire pour les entreprises qui ferment et les milliers d’emplois directs et indirects qui sont menacés? Quelles solutions allez-vous mettre en œuvre pour mes compatriotes? Je demande à l’Union européenne de prendre des mesures le plus tôt possible pour aider mes compatriotes.
Monsieur Schmit, mes chers collègues, aujourd’hui, le temps est compté. En tant que député des outre-mer, je vous demande d’agir pour aider économiquement et socialement mes compatriotes et nos territoires ultramarins.
Jarosław Duda (PPE). – Panie Przewodniczący! W większości zgadzamy się, że społeczne skutki pandemii są równie dramatyczne jak skutki gospodarcze. Moi przedmówcy podjęli bardzo wiele ważnych kwestii. Pandemia była dla nas wszystkich gorzką lekcją. Ukazała niewydolność systemów usług społecznych, zdrowotnych, rehabilitacyjnych, co w szczególności dotknęło osoby starsze i niepełnosprawne.
Panie komisarzu, chciałbym szczególną uwagę zwrócić na dramatyczny wymiar wpływu pandemii na zdrowie psychiczne dzieci i młodzieży. Byłem współorganizatorem kilku seminariów i spotkań, które były tej kwestii poświęcone, i muszę państwu powiedzieć, że refleksje ekspertów, rodziców, nauczycieli i samych młodych ludzi są zatrważające. Dzieciństwo i okres dojrzewania to czas szczególnej wrażliwości. Od lat niestety odnotowujemy niepokojącą tendencję wzrostu zaburzeń psychicznych, depresji, a co gorsze, prób samobójczych wśród ludzi młodych.
Dodatkowo znaczącemu pogorszenie uległ dostęp do terapii i rehabilitacji. Warto podkreślić, że często również rodzina, która jest podstawowym systemem wsparcia, znalazła się w bardzo trudnych i poważnych kłopotach. Dzieci i młodzież przesądzą o przyszłości Europy. Jeśli dziś nie zainwestujemy w ich dobrostan, we wspieranie ich w zdrowiu psychicznym i w pełnym rozwoju, możemy stracić całe pokolenie. Dlatego bardzo apeluję do pana komisarza, do Komisji Europejskiej, a także do rządów i administracji, aby były adekwatne środki, które mogą zniwelować ten negatywny wpływ pandemii na dzieci i młodzież. Chciałbym szczególnie jeszcze raz podkreślić, żeby wspieranie zdrowia psychicznego i dobrostanu stały się priorytetem dla Komisji Europejskiej.
Gabriele Bischoff (S&D). – Verehrter Präsident, lieber Kommissar! Ich habe mich heute gefragt: Wie oft in diesem Jahr hat die Kommission eigentlich die Zahl des Eurobarometers zitiert, dass neun von zehn Europäerinnen sagen, dass für sie das europäische, das soziale Europa und die Handlungsfähigkeit hier ganz wichtig sind? Und ich habe mich heute gefragt: Wo war das soziale Europa in der Rede zur Lage der Nation? Ich habe es kaum entdeckt.
Deshalb bin ich froh über die Ausführungen zu unseren Fragen, werter Kommissar, lieber Nicolas. Es ist aber auch wichtig, trotzdem hier im Klartext zu sagen, dass ich wirklich heute große Zweifel bekommen habe, ob man in den Topetagen der Kommission wirklich verstanden hat, was für eine Krise diese Pandemie ausgelöst hat, wie sie Millionen von Menschen betrifft und dass sie gleichzeitig eben eine Krise ist, die überall zuschlägt, aber die Menschen sehr unterschiedlich betrifft. Ich fand es gut, dass die Union es geschafft hat, eine wirklich große Massenarbeitslosigkeit zu verhindern, und zwar durch das Programm SURE, weil sie schnell und beherzt reagiert hat. Das war superwichtig, damit wir nicht wieder solche Arbeitslosenschicksale haben wie in der Finanzkrise.
Eine Auswertung von SURE ist ein erster Schritt. Aber meine Frage ist: Wird die Kommission ihr Versprechen einhalten, dass sie wirklich auch eine europäische Arbeitslosenrückversicherung auf den Weg bringt und dass man das nicht schon auf dem Weg hier verliert?
Der zweite Punkt: Ich fand es gut, dass die Richtlinie zum europäischen Mindesteinkommen genannt worden ist. Armut und Ungleichheit sind in dieser Krise gewachsen. Aber auch hier die Frage: Wann können wir damit rechnen, dass es dazu wirklich einen Vorschlag gibt? Denn der würde den Menschen auch eine Perspektive geben und das Vertrauen stärken, dass wir hier nicht nur reden, sondern dass die Europäische Union handelt. Deshalb meine Frage zum Arbeitsprogramm 2022: Was finden wir zu diesen Fragen darin wieder?
Billy Kelleher (Renew). – Mr President, there will obviously be many negative social consequences because of the COVID-19 pandemic – mental health issues in young and old, the loss of life and the inability to grieve is a very significant issue, family separation, education of our children in their formative years and the loss of those social contacts, and the pressure on our health services. Of course, all of these issues will significantly challenge our public services and the key issue from my perspective will be that the European Union and Member States come together to ensure that they have the financial capacity over the next number of years to deal with this.
I know that the European Union has been extraordinarily ambitious in terms of its social contract with Member States and its citizens in terms of the Recovery and Resilience Fund, but we have to be very conscious that in the years ahead, circumstances could unfold whereby the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are not felt for a number of years. We will have to have flexibility in ensuring that national governments have the ability to respond with the financial wherewithal.
Equally and as importantly, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the Commission, said today that we do not want ‘a pandemic of the unvaccinated’ and that is a significant issue that has to be addressed both within the European Union and in some Member States where there is a weak uptake of vaccines. But globally as well, we have to ensure from now on that we have a quality of access to vaccines globally to ensure that we are all safe together.
So I would urge the Commission, in both those areas, to address those particular issues in the short, medium and longer term.
Eugen Tomac (PPE). – Domnule președinte, domnule comisar, stimați colegi, cred că în fața Comisiei Europene se află una dintre cele mai mari provocări, pentru că criza de sănătate publică generată de Covid ne-a pus în față o mare provocare.
Aveți o uriașă responsabilitate, domnule comisar, pentru că, bineînțeles, am auzit astăzi și din partea doamnei președintă, aici, în plenul Parlamentului, angajamentele dumneavoastră sunt extrem de importante, extrem de serioase, extrem de bine gândite și fundamentate, însă este esențial ca de la angajament până la implementare să lucrați împreună cu guvernele naționale, astfel încât toate domeniile care au fost puternic afectate de coronavirus, toate categoriile sociale afectate puternic de pandemie să fie susținute.
Este evident că s-au produs dezechilibre socioeconomice puternice în societățile noastre, care au accelerat inegalități între oameni. Aproximativ 91 de milioane de persoane, dintre care 18 milioane de copii, sunt expuse riscului de sărăcie sau de excluziune socială în Uniunea Europeană. Lor trebuie să le acordăm atenția cuvenită pentru a menține mai departe angajamentul Uniunii Europene, că nimeni nu trebuie să rămână în urmă din această criză, trecând prin această criză.
Una dintre industriile puternic afectate în toată Uniunea Europeană este HoReCa. În țara mea, specialiștii susțin că 30 % din această industrie nu își va mai reveni niciodată. Tocmai de aceea, trebuie să puneți presiunea necesară, să lucrați împreună cu guvernele naționale, astfel încât planurile de redresare și reziliență să își atingă efectul pe care mizează Comisia.
Pierfrancesco Majorino (S&D). – Signor Presidente, signor Commissario, onorevoli colleghi, nel 2020 il reddito medio da lavoro nell'Unione europea è sceso del 7 % rispetto al 2019 e dalle prime stime si comprende come aumenti la povertà. Stiamo assistendo a una crescita delle diseguaglianze all'interno delle nostre società.
In questo contesto, accelerato dalla pandemia, ripartire con strumenti finalmente adeguati è indispensabile. Parliamo spesso di una svolta e questo è il momento in cui attuarla, il momento per un'Europa sociale da realizzare attraverso misure forti, integrate, che siano giuste, eque e costruite sulla base dei principi del pilastro sociale europeo, i principi spesso richiamati dal Commissario Schmit.
Il contrasto alla povertà e all'emarginazione, il sostegno all'occupazione, in particolare a quella femminile e giovanile, anche promuovendo ancora di più SURE, la questione del salario minimo, lo sviluppo delle competenze, le politiche della casa per tutti, la garanzia dell'accesso ai servizi sociosanitari. Questo deve essere il cuore del nostro progetto, un progetto incompatibile con le politiche dell'austerità.
Vlad Gheorghe (Renew). – Domnule președinte, pandemia a fost și este o tragedie care ne-a dat tuturor viața peste cap, a paralizat sănătatea și a blocat economia. Urmările se vor vedea ani la rând, dacă nu acționăm corect. Pe unii pandemia i-a lovit mai greu: copii și tineri, femei, vârstnici, persoane cu afecțiuni cronice și dizabilități, lucrători sezonieri, mici întreprinzători.
Nu este suficient să acordăm sume record pentru investiții, trebuie să combatem corupția. Nu este suficient să dăm bani din bugetul Uniunii, dacă nu combatem fenomenul fake news. Nu este suficient să oferim fonduri autorităților locale, dacă nu le spunem și cum să le acceseze. Pe scurt, să combatem pericolul care pândește odată cu sărăcia și adâncirea inegalităților: creșterea extremismelor și a conflictelor sociale, îndepărtarea de valorile europene și actualizarea lipsei de încredere în Uniune.
Rog Comisia să acționeze energic, cu gândul la toți cetățenii europeni. Atrag atenția Comisiei că toți cei care votează în Uniune vor fapte, nu birocrație europeană, vor ajutor concret, nu programe funcționărești. Vor să simtă că le este mai bine în Uniunea Europeană, nu să audă discursuri. Vor dovezi că suntem puternici împreună. Nu putem face aceasta doar dintr-un birou confortabil, uitându-ne pe hârtii, trebuie să ascultăm oamenii, pentru că ei duc povara de zi cu zi și știu cel mai bine de ce au nevoie. Noi avem datoria și responsabilitatea să îi ajutăm.
Nicolas Schmit,Member of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members, first I want to thank you for this very inspiring debate. I think what we have discussed this evening is about the concrete situations of millions of European citizens, about their pains, about their suffering, about their difficulties and the effort the European Union has made to mitigate these difficulties and these pains.
Although we should not forget that this pandemic has taken away thousands of lives, it’s not the lockdown that took people’s lives, it’s the virus. I want to say – and this has been said by the President very clearly this morning – there is only one way out, and that’s vaccination. The European Union has made tremendous efforts to make sure that vaccines are available for everyone and that vaccination is accessible for everybody.
We must unfortunately note that very often there is also inequality at that level in our countries. We have to fight for getting as many people vaccinated as possible. We are not yet there. We are good in some countries and we are not good in others. There is a necessity for all of us to make this effort, otherwise we will have to deal with remaining economic, but also social, problems and really also problems of families, which will be plunged into grief, into suffering.
I cannot go into detail on all the questions. Yes, this has been also a crisis of psychology. That’s right. Especially the young have been affected and remain affected. Again, we have to help them now to find a new stability, a job. When we talk about a ‘Year for the Young’ it’s not just a nice formula, but we have to come up with very concrete solutions. Everybody has to take the responsibility that the recovery is the recovery for all, and especially also a recovery for the young generation. That’s the meaning of the year 2020, the Year of the Young or of Youth.
Certainly it’s about people, it’s not about money. But money nevertheless is important, and I just want to mention that one of the first decisions which was taken, on a proposal by the Commission, was finally to suspend the Stability and Growth Pact. Imagine for one second if this had not been done.
By the way, we also introduced very high flexibility in the funds and the use of the funds, the CRII 1 and 2, and Parliament was very helpful to pass these measures very, very rapidly. So this was also a very important measure to give countries the money to act rapidly and to target the immediate consequences of this pandemic, which was an event nobody could really foresee and expect.
FEAD was increased, for the most vulnerable and the most deprived – and suddenly many people became deprived, even those who never, never expected to be deprived, were deprived.
One word on companies. Yes, I agree there are also small companies, certain sectors, suffering a lot. But here also measures were taken. All Member States were encouraged to support self—employed people, and SURE was not excluding the self—employed. Some countries did it by the way, and also for small companies to allow them to survive.
Yes, we will come up with a recommendation on the Directive on minimum income next year, 2022, and the idea of a permanent SURE is still under study and has not been abandoned.
Der Präsident. – Die Aussprache ist geschlossen.
Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 171)
Ádám Kósa (NI), írásban. – A magyar gazdaság újraindítása sikeres, gyorsabban képes visszaállni korábbi növekedési pályájára. Az Unió gazdasági növekedési előrejelzése az élmezőnybe sorolja Magyarországot, ugyanis mindössze három uniós országnak jósolt magasabb idei növekedést. A járvány okozta gazdasági visszaesés után, már ez év második felében a magyar gazdaság elérheti a 2019 végi szintet, év végére meg is haladhatja azt. A munkában álló embereknek a száma ma Magyarországon 4,5 millió felett van, és ez csak 50 ezerrel kevesebb, mint 2019 azonos időszakában volt.
A magyar kormány járvány utáni újraindításának megalapozottsága érdekében olyan költségvetést fogadott el az idei és a jövő évre egyaránt, amely biztosítja az újraindítást lehetővé tevő forrásokat. A költségvetésben mind a beruházások és a családok támogatása, a nyugdíjak emelése, mind pedig a szociális, vagy bérkiadások fedezete biztosított. Magyarországon nincs olyan társadalmi csoport, amely becsődölt volna: a családokat és a vállalkozásokat is segítettük. Sőt, ha sikerül elérni az 5,5 százalékos GDP-növekedést, akkor a gyermeket nevelő szülőknek 2022-ben visszaadjuk azt az adót, amit befizettek a 2021-es év során a költségvetésbe.