Interparliamentary Conference on the European Social Charter Turin Forum on Social Rights in Europe
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European Social Charter Turin Process Interparliamentary Conference on the European Social Charter Turin Forum on Social Rights in Europe 17 and 18 March 2016, Turin, Italy Official speeches and interventions Council of Europe The opinions expressed in this publication are the responibility of the authors and do not necessarely reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe. The only official versions are those delivered orally. Reproduction of the texts in this publication is authorised provided the full title and the source, namely the Council of Europe, are cited. If they are intended to be used for commercial purposes or translated into one of the non- official languages of the Council of Europe, please contact [email protected]. Cover photo: © Shutterstock, Council of Europe Cover design: Documents and Publications Production Department (SPDP), Council of Europe© © Council of Europe, November 2016 Printed at the Council of Europe Table of Contents INTRODUCTION by Riccardo PRIORE, Coordinator of the Turin Process for the European Social Charter, Council of Europe ....................................................................................................................................................4 INTERPARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE ON THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL CHARTER, 17 MARCH 2016 Official speeches.............................................................................................................................8 Piero FASSINO, Mayor of Turin, Italy..............................................................................................9 Mario MARAZZITI, Chairman of the Social Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, Italy .........................................................................................................................................................11 Gabriella BATTAINI-DRAGONI, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe................14 Michele NICOLETTI, President of the Italian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and General Rapporteur of the High-level Conference on the European Social Charter, Turin 2014..........................................................................................................................18 Sílvia Eloïsa BONET, Member of the General Council of Andorra, Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on “The Turin process: reinforcing social rights in Europe” ........................................................................................................................................23 TURIN FORUM ON SOCIAL RIGHTS IN EUROPE, 18 MARCH 2016 Official speeches and interventions...............................................................................................27 Piero FASSINO, Mayor of Turin, Italy............................................................................................28 Gabriella BATTAINI-DRAGONI, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe................31 Jean-Paul FITOUSSI, Professor of Economics, Institute of Political Studies, Paris........................33 Olivier DE SCHUTTER, Professor of Law at the Louvain University and at the College of Europe, Member of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ....................37 Rudi DELARUE, Representative of the Directorate General Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission.....................................................................................................58 Andrey ISAEV, Deputy-President of the State Duma, Russian Federation .....................................60 Angelo FARRUGIA, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Malta ...........................................63 Giuseppe PALMISANO, President of the European Committee of Social Rights, Council of Europe ..............................................................................................................................................65 Georgios KATROUGALOS, Minister of Labour, Social Security and Social Solidarity of the Hellenic Republic.............................................................................................................................67 Cesare DAMIANO, Chairman of the Committee on Public and Private Sector Employment of the Chamber of Deputies, Italy ..............................................................................................................69 Notes ....................................................................................................................................................72 Page 3 Introduction by Riccardo PRIORE Co-ordinator of the Turin Process for the European Social Charter, Department of the European Social Charter, Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, Council of Europe The Interparliamentary Conference on the European Social Charter and the Turin Forum on Social Rights in Europe (Turin, 17-18 March 2016) were organised as part of the Turin Process launched by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe at the High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter (Turin, 17-18 October 2014) - hereafter referred to as “Turin 1”.1 “Turin 1” - an event organised by the Council of Europe in conjunction with the Italian presidency of the Council of the European Union and the City of Turin - focused the attention of the governments of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe and European Union authorities on the importance of guaranteeing and promoting the social rights enshrined in the European Social Charter treaties in a highly challenging international context which can be properly addressed only through the implementation of those rights. “Turin 1” also offered an opportunity to reiterate the unity and indivisibility of human rights, and to stress that the social rights guaranteed by the European Social Charter are an integral part of human rights, on an equal footing with the civil and political rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. On this basis, “Turin 1” was able to stimulate a political debate between the representatives of the governments concerned and led to the identification of a series of objectives for the Turin Process, which were subsequently included in the final report of the Conference and in the action plan linked to that report, which was drawn up by Michele Nicoletti, Chair of the Italian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe – referred to below as the “Nicoletti Report”. In the Council of Europe, the “Nicoletti Report” represented a starting point for the discussions initiated at inter-governmental level (in the Committee of Ministers) and at inter-parliamentary level (in the Parliamentary Assembly) in relation to the priority objective of the Turin Process: reinforcing the treaty system of the European Social Charter within the organisation and its relationship with European Union law. The objectives laid down in the “Nicoletti Report” were also endorsed by the Conference on the “Future of the Protection of Social Rights in Europe”, organised in Brussels on 12 and 13 February 2015 by the Belgian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. This event provided an opportunity to deepen and enrich the discussions initiated during “Turin 1” on both a political and academic level.2 The debates held during the Brussels Conference were summarised, by subject area, in a document drawn up by a group of experts chaired by the General 1 The main documents relating to that event are available on the website of the Council of Europe www.coe.int/socialcharter. This website also contains detailed information on the treaty system of the European Social Charter and the Turin Process. 2 The main documents relating to the Brussels Conference are available on the website mentioned above. Page 4 Co-ordinator of the Academic network of the European Social Charter and Social Rights (‘Brussels Document’). The ‘Brussels Document’, which was forwarded to the Committee of Ministers by the Belgian Chairmanship, was acknowledged as a key contribution to the Turin Process. As was stated in the “Nicoletti Report”, the proposals put forward in the “Turin 1” process included an event to be held under the Turin Process focusing specifically on the parliamentary dimension. This idea came to fruition with the organisation of the Interparliamentary Conference on the European Social Charter. This conference, held in Turin City Hall on 17 March 2016, was followed on 18 March by the Turin Forum on Social Rights in Europe. Both events – which will be referred to below as “Turin 2”3 - were organised by the Council of Europe, the City of Turin and the Italian Chamber of Deputies. The decision to organise “Turin 2” took account of the decision by the Parliamentary Assembly, which was involved in the Interparliamentary Conference, to draw up a policy report on the Turin Process, expected to be presented in 2017. On the basis of this report the Parliamentary Assembly may decide to submit a recommendation to the Committee of Ministers and a resolution to the Council of Europe member states. Following the meeting of governmental representatives as part of “Turin 1”, the objective of “Turin 2” was to bring together the representatives of the parliaments of the 47 Council of Europe member states with the aim of promoting: 1) the political discussion concerning the acceptance of the Social Charter treaty system; 2) greater consideration of its provisions in domestic legislative processes; 3) improved