EU commits to social rights at a summit in Porto

European Union leaders met this weekend in the Portuguese city of Porto. This summit is part of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, presented by the European Commission last March.

During this meeting, the European heads of government will outline new measures to create more jobs and reduce poverty, the main objectives of the project. In addition, politicians will meet with trade unions, organisations, civil society and an informal European Council. 

"This is a historic moment," said Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa. Together with Costa, Ursula von der Leyen, David Sassoli and representatives of civil society signed the "Porto Social Commitment".

The goals set by the European Commission are that by 2030, 78% of the working age population should be in employment and 60% should be in education and training. "We must make social issues a top priority. We are going to discuss how to create good jobs and put the emphasis on training," said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

On poverty, it is expected that by 2020, 15 million people, including 5 million children, will no longer be at risk of social exclusion. According to EU data, 72.4% of the population was in employment in 2020 and 91 million citizens were living in poverty in 2019.

This summit is taking place in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, a health crisis that has affected the EU economy, leaving millions of people unemployed. COVID-19 has also increased social inequality within the European space. "It is important to target resources where they are most needed to strengthen our economies and focus our political efforts on equal opportunities," says the communiqué.

Another issue related to the coronavirus pandemic has been the release of vaccine patents. Recently, US President Joe Biden expressed his support for releasing patents, which caused pharmaceutical companies to push back and their stock prices to plummet. After the US government's announcement, Ursula von der Leyen said that Brussels would be willing to discuss patents.

During the summit, she said that liberalising the patenting of coronavirus vaccines "will not solve the problems in the short to medium term".  Instead, she said, what is needed is to share and donate vaccines to other countries. Von der Leyen recalled that the EU has exported 650,000 to the Western Balkans and that it is "the only democratic region in the world that is exporting on a large scale".

European social affairs is not only about economic and employment issues. The meeting in Porto also touched on child poverty and gender equality. The latter issue, gender equality, has generated controversy among European leaders. Hungary and Poland, conservative countries that often disagree with the policies outlined by Brussels, have forced the removal of the term "gender equality" from the declaration. Instead, it has been replaced by the promotion of "equality and justice for every individual". In contrast, for other nations such as Finland, Austria and Spain the term "gender equality" was "non-negotiable". 

The Spanish government has put forward several proposals with the aim of strengthening the presence of social agency in EU debates. It has put forward SURE (European unemployment insurance), a scheme designed during the pandemic to prevent job losses. It has also, together with Belgium, presented a paper on fair and inclusive growth. 

This meeting to address social challenges comes shortly before the Future of Europe Conference on Sunday, coinciding with Europe Day.