Brussels, 03/06/2010
During the meeting, the trade union delegation [[Composition of the trade union delegation:
John Monks, ETUC General Secretary
Joël Decaillon, ETUC Deputy General Secretary
Bernard Thibault, General Secretary of the CGT (General Labour Confederation - France)
Yannis Panagopoulos, President of the GSEE (General Confederation of Greek Workers).]]
will highlight its priorities:
- The European Union needs a recovery plan to stimulate growth through its own development, as well as strong industrial policies based on a low-carbon approach and the use of new technologies. The ETUC will reiterate its warning against the austerity measures being adopted by many governments, because they are a threat to growth and purchasing power. Such austerity measures will also reduce the impact of social benefits, the last bastion against social exclusion, and will aggravate widespread precariousness.
- The ETUC also considers it urgent to bolster fiscal coordination at European level. Indeed, the asymmetry in competitiveness within Europe creates a problem for economic and social cohesion in the European Union.
- Lastly, the European Union must press on with its efforts to tighten financial regulations. We must develop new taxation revenues such as a tax on financial transactions. The ETUC defends financial regulation to reverse the trend of high risk speculation.
The future of Europe cannot be based on creating precarious jobs and a downward spiral in social protection. At its Executive Committee meeting on 1 and 2 June 2010, the ETUC decided to launch a campaign for growth and against drastic cuts in public spending. A Euro-demonstration will be held on 29 September in Brussels.
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