A commitment to social dialogue

Over the past week I have had the privilege to promote and debate two important reports which I negotiated on behalf of the European People's Party within the European Parliament: a report which amended the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund and another report which calls for a Renewed Social Agenda.

Following the European Parliament's plenary session, which is incidentally the last of this legislature, I met up with CMTU President William Portelli and GWU Secretary General Tony Zarb, both of whom had been closely following the developments on the Fund due to its relevance to Malta.

Indeed, the European Globalisation Fund (EGF), which provides effective support to workers that have been laid off by their troubled enterprises, has already been utilised by Maltese companies in the past; former employees of Bortex and VF benefitted from EGF funding through training schemes organized by the Employment and Training Corporation with the objective of re-entering the workplace.

While it is essential to utilise the EGF to our advantage, since it creates a sort of social safety net for our workers, it is also essential that we gear up to face the challenges ahead of us in a proactive manner. The Renewed Social Agenda seeks to address the problems which have been accentuated by the international economic and financial crisis with the premise that the quality of our social fabric determines how well we fare within today's global marketplace.

To face up to the economic readjustments and social changes required, the EU Member States will have to engage in an open dialogue with the social partners, representatives of civil society and non-governmental organizations of their country. I am committed to being part of this dialogue.

I shall delve into this topic in greater detail tomorrow in my article on The Times.