Speech of Vice-President Wilms

European Economic and Social Committee Sustainable Development Observatory

Brussels, 20 June 2013 Dir B – Section NAT-SDO-14/2013 VT/cvr

ILO Conference Geneva, 10 June 2013

Speech for Hans-Joachim Wilms EESC Vice-President

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Ladies and gentlemen

Thank you for inviting me to say a few words at today's "World of Work" conference.

I am most pleased to have this opportunity to speak to you, because we at the European Economic and Social Committee, by virtue of our membership and also our priorities, feel particularly closely linked to the International Labour Organisation. It was because of this that we agreed in our 2005 Joint Declaration to regularly keep abreast of our respective priorities and to provide each other with support.

Allow me to briefly outline the Committee and its role: The European Economic and Social Committee - the EESC - is the advisory body in the EU institutional setup which represents organised European civil society. In virtually every area of European policy, the EESC must be consulted before a legislative decision is taken. EESC members come from a variety of civil society organisations from all 27 EU Member States: we have representatives of trade unions, employers, farmers, the self-employed, environmentalists, teachers, the disabled, young people, scouts etc. As EESC members we also remain active in our national organisations and regularly travel to Brussels to participate in meetings.

As I mentioned, we are consulted on nearly all the proposals for legislation in the EU, and are also able to examine issues on our own initiative wherever we see a particular need for action. Given the financial, economic and social crisis, which is hitting Europe particularly hard, and also in view of the global environmental and climate crisis, it is a matter of course for the Committee that we look beyond day-to-day politics and deal with fundamental economic policy questions.

How sustainable are our actions? Are the ways we deal with completely new challenges at all still in keeping with our times? Can we allow ourselves to "continue along the same path as we have to date" in view of our responsibilities to the young

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That is why we also actively used the UN conference on sustainable development held last year in Rio (Rio+20) to relay civil society's calls for sustainable development and then also to ensure that the outcome achieved in Rio is translated it into reality in European society. It is of key importance to us that civil society be involved in this process at all levels: international, European, national, regional and local. For us it is also a matter of coordination between all players. Now it is really about all parties working together towards transforming our economy into an inclusive, green economy.

It therefore will not surprise you that we warmly welcome the International Labour Organisation's activities in relation to the green economy, in particular those carried out in conjunction with the UNEP - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - and other international bodies. We have also been closely following Mr Ryder's vision for 2019 tied in with a green initiative and a social imitative. It is of fundamental importance that the International Labour Organisation should take an interest in and actively contribute to the transition to an inclusive, green economy. For nothing will happen without the consensus of the parties participating here: the social partners and government representatives.

The European Economic and Social Committee has already been working on the issue of an inclusive, green economy for some time and, in particular, issued an own-initiative opinion on this subject last month.

We consider that the development of an inclusive, green economy will be the biggest challenge we will have to face in the next few years. At the Rio +20 conference, the EU advocated the green economy as a form of sustainable development. It now must act accordingly, also in partnership with countries outside Europe. To this end, a new development model is needed that prioritises public investments in

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'green' research, development and innovation and offers appropriate incentives for businesses to invest in this domain.

At the EESC, we do not see this only as an environmental policy requirement, but definitely also as an opportunity for worldwide economic development. Just last month, the Executive Director of UNEP, Achim Steiner, spoke to us of the many initiatives which African states have been taking in this connection. South Africa and Kenya are just two examples, both of which have been purposefully implementing a strategy to this end.

These fundamental, necessary changes to production and consumption patterns are impossible without the involvement of civil society; they are after all key players here.

The EESC stresses that the opportunities for creating new jobs will increase with the development of an inclusive, green economy. Green jobs are not only created in a few new sectors, but also by making production procedures and products more environmentally friendly in all sectors. For the transition to a green economy to be carried out fairly, active employment measures for creating decent jobs are just as necessary as vocational and further training for employees. A key role for green growth will be to promote the employment of women and young people in these sectors.

In this connection I should like to highlight how important it is for the social partners to agree on industrial policy in order to coordinate technical innovation efforts and to set in motion changes to the production infrastructure in many sectors affected by the development of a low-carbon, resource-efficient economy. Companies also need to make considerable investments for this to happen.

Moreover, the EESC likewise wholeheartedly endorses the Social Protection Floor Initiative, which aims to secure a basic set of social rights and transfers, as well as ensuring that essential goods and social services are made accessible to everyone.

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Allow me to conclude by once again stressing that the transition to a fair, green economy will only work if we all pull together and cooperate worldwide. We at the EESC will of course play our part in this to ensure that the EU also does its homework on the subject!

We are happy to continue our efforts to promote social dialogue on these matters with all the players involved, within and outside Europe.

Thank you for your attention.

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