To be competitive, the European economy must be "socially fairer"

Prime Minister António Costa claimed that the European economy will not be competitive unless it is "socially fairer" and has a "balanced migration policy". He also claimed there is "a lot to be done" to improve female participation in the labour market.

During the opening session for the Porto Social Forum, the Prime Minister added that the EU will not be economically competitive "unless we develop a balanced migration policy in dialogue with the countries of origin and transit".

The Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security Ana Mendes Godinho also attended the event.

According to António Costa, the EU is "building the foundations for a European industrial policy", still incomplete "in the lack of a true joint, permanent financial instrument focusing on Europe’s green re-industrialisation" and that in this framework, the European Pillar of Social Rights "takes on greater importance".

Skills

On "skills", the Prime Minister noted that "the acceleration of the digital and green transitions largely depends on upskilling European workers and boosting skills":

"We know there are occupations that will disappear, jobs that will o longer exist, but we also know that this twin transition opens the door to new occupations. What we must guarantee is that those who lose their jobs have the opportunity to find new ones", he said.

In addition to skills, António Costa claimed it is necessary to ensure that the EU economies "are ready to deal with the restrictions on growth due to challenging demography".

"Today, in a borderless Europe and a globalised world, companies will have to compete over talent as they compete over value and the cost of the goods they produce or services they provide", he added.

Women

According to the Prime Minister, attracting this talent includes "improving work/life balance conditions, stable work agreements and fair remuneration, including reducing the gender pay gap".

"Portugal has had highly positive outcomes, above the EU average. Last year the unemployment rate for women was 74.8%, compared to an 80% employment rate for men", he remarked.

Worker scarcity

António Costa highlighted that both the US and the EU are currently experiencing "a worker scarcity" and noted that "investing in industrial sectors of strategic importance will lead to growing demand for human resources".

"State aid and investment are not enough. Nothing will be enough to accelerate the industrial transition if we don0t find ways of having more attractive labour markets, that are more inclusive and where our citizens can take part", he stated.

For the Prime Minister, "this is an area where the EU, with its social market economy and advanced social policies can obtain a competitive edge compared to the US".

Boosting the Pillar of Social Rights

The Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, said in turn that "there can only be economic prosperity with a strong social dimension" and "collectively we must have the capacity to respond to emergencies, crises, yet never slowdown the structural social investment".

At the end of the conference, an Open Charter was signed by 37 European leaders, where the commitments of the Porto Social Summit for 2030 are renewed, envisaging an acceleration of the target for the European childhood guarantee, yet also the dimensions of skills and qualifications in the world of the twin (digital and green) transition.

The Porto Social Forum is a biennial initiative hosted by the Portuguese Government with the support of the European Commission, where the social partners and civil society take part. It sets the second anniversary of the Porto Social Summit.