Lisbon treaty

EU Member States signed the Treaty of Lisbon in December 2007, and it entered into force in December 2009. While not meeting all the ETUC’s demands, it did include some positive provisions to strengthen the EU’s social dimension:

- the reinforcement of social values and principles (such as solidarity, equality and gender equality, non-discrimination, etc.),

- the social and employment objectives (‘full employment’, ‘social market economy’),

- the recognition of the role of the social partners,

- the incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights,

- the right of initiative for citizens,

- the legal base for services of general interest,

- the social clause.

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  • 10.01.2014 Page

    Focus: Economic and social crisis

    As the economic landscape is deteriorating fast with the crisis hitting countries worldwide, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has established a specific section focusing on the economic and social crisis. It highlights the early warnings that the European trade union movement has issued regarding the risks inherent to financial capitalism, as well as the positions and actions proposed by ETUC to prevent the recession from deepening further.
  • 07.12.2011 Document

    Urgent message of the ETUC Executive Committee to the European Council of the 8-9 December 2011

    Brussels, 07/12/2011 The European Trade Union Confederation Executive Committee wishes to send you a strong and urgent message in the context of the European Council discussion of changes in the Lisbon Treaty. It is the future of citizens, and not the opinion of rating agencies, to which your concerns must be directed. Your common political leadership is essential to prevent a collapse of our economies, recession, mass unemployment and social unrest. Don’t stifle growth and jobs. Don’t imprison EU countries in an economic straitjacket.
  • 12.01.2010 Speech

    The ETUC in the Coming Decade – Future challenges and opportunities

    Brussels, 12/01/2010 As an American President once said – forecasting is difficult, especially about the future. I am asked tonight to reflect on the ETUC in the next decade – in effect, an ETUC version of the 2020 exercise launched by the President of the European Commission recently. My first reflection is related to that 2020 exercise. It is an unavoidable fact that the EU’s future will have a big impact on the future of the ETUC and trade unionism at European level.
  • 03.12.2009 Document

    Resolution on the ETUC and the Lisbon Treaty

    Brussels, 01-02/12/2009 {{ }}1. On 1st December 2009, the new Lisbon Treaty came into force. The new Treaty is a better one than the current provisions of the Nice Treaty but it does little to advance social progress.
  • 05.11.2009 Press release

    ETUC looks forward to the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty

    Brussels, 05/11/2009 This advance is an encouragement in our continuing campaign to ensure a proper interpretation of the Treaty’s internal market provisions and against the unbalanced rulings of the European Court of Justice in the Laval, Viking, Rüffert and Luxemburg cases.
  • 10.07.2009 Press release

    ETUC urges "YES" vote on Lisbon

    Brussels, 10/07/2009 Mr Monks will say “(…) the ETUC supports ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and I hope the Irish people approve it. (….) it is a step forward compared to existing provisions, for example in relation to the legal enforcement of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, commitments to full employment, the social market economy, and public services.”
  • 15.07.2008 Speech

    Towards a social Europe

    Luxembourg, 05/07/2008 Europe’s trade unions have always been committed to European integration. We backed the internal market project, we supported European monetary union and we were an active champion of the enlargement of the European Union.
  • 14.03.2008 Speech

    International Women's Day (Available only in Italian)

    Rome, 08/03/2008 To be checked against delivery Care amiche, cari amici, é per me oggi un gran privilegio poter festeggiare insieme a voi, in questa splendida cornice, il centenario dell'8 (otto) marzo. Giornata internazionale della donna. Mi felicito per l'iniziativa. La vostra presenza, il vostro coinvolgimento, é già un successo.
  • 13.03.2008 Speech

    Tripartite Social Summit

    Brussels, 13/03/2008 To be checked against delivery Presidents, ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to be at this tripartite social summit this morning. These events are an important reminder of the need for Europe to have an effective social dimension. It is vitally important that Europe is successfully economically and environmentally but it must also be successful socially.
  • 29.02.2008 Speech

    Scottish Trades Union Congress Conference (STUC)

    Glasgow, 29/02/2008 To be checked against delivery President, delegates, this is an important conference on an important topic. I don’t just mean the Lisbon Treaty. I mean the place of Britain and Scotland in the European Union because that is the context that must shape the debate on the Treaty.
  • 26.10.2007 Document

    EU Reform Treaty: Statement by the ETUC

    Lisbon, 17-18/10/2007 1. The ETUC regrets the unambitious nature of much of the EU Reform Treaty. There was a real opportunity to revive social Europe by extending qualified majority voting and by extending the competences of the Union to control the dark side of globalisation and rampant financial capitalism. What we have instead is a series of modest adjustments to the EU’s framework of rules, which will have only a limited impact on the process of deepening Europe’s capacity to act decisively in the world.