Post EUCO Europlus considerations: A European model of the social partners or the central bankers?

1) Europlus Pact: Which autonomy is more important, policy-wise: a) the autonomy of the central bank or b) the autonomy of the social partners? IMO, (b).

2) After EUCO, ie the European Council of 24-25 March (and the Europlus Pact of the 23), I pose again the strategic-policy questtion: Who understands the real economy better? a) the central bankers or b) the social partners? IMO, again (b).

3) Thus the crucial IMO Trade (growth (and competitiveness and export?)) Policy question: What are the effects on Eurozone exports from a 1.4-1.42 USD/Euro rate? (for background info see the Bloomberg article "Euro Falls From 4-Month High Reached on ECB Rate Speculation" by Allison Bennett, Mar 26, 2011)

EU social policy to pick up pace?

Based on the Commissioner's-designate replies and hearing at the European Parliament, it seems to me that 2010+ EU Social policy "activity" will "pick up" compared to previous years.

On Thursday, I watched part of the EU's informal Social Affairs Council meet in Barcelona. Mostly the press conference.

The press conference panel included reps of ETUC, BUSINESSEUROPE and CEEP (European social partners).

There are a lot of discussion on flexicurity, it seems.

IMO the Danish (and original) model of flexicurity is the most interesting. It was developed by the Danish social partners and agreed by government.
As afar as I know, eg, the German flexicurity model allows company to change employee's job description (and thus contract) and move him/her internally.






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Key achievements of the horizontal European Social Dialogue to-date

Since 1993 (when the EU Treaty provided for), the European cross-industry Social Dialogue has led to:

3 agreements implemented by Council Directive, on parental leave (1995), part-time work (1997) and fixed-term contracts (1999)

and

3 autonomous agreements on telework (2002), work-related stress (2004) and harassment and violence at work (2007)

More

Does the EU need a min wage as a balance to inter-state Services?

The socio-political troubles of the EU single market for Services:

How does inter-state provision of services work in the US compared to the EU? Has tone much better.

Does the EU need a minimum #wage (the US has, federal and each state), in order for some CSOs to be less adverse to a Single Market for Services?

EU leaders meet with EU employers and trade unions

The EU's "Tripartite Social Summit" was held today (EU Council Troika, Commission President and Employment Commissioner plus the so called "European Social Partners")

Employers and trade unions delegations to the Tripartite Social Summit this morning were coordinated by BUSINESSEUROPE and ETUC

And while the EU leaders and social partners gathered for the Social Summit (Thursday am) and then the European Council, the news that US economy grew 3.5% in Q3 arrived! A jolt bolt for some?

Dynamics: German social policies

There is a very complex system of sectoral, professional, federal and lander-level, sets of wage agreement, mostly negotiated between employers federations and trade unions. If I am not mistaken, until now, Germany does not a federal minimum wage (eg the US has one (recently revised up) and so does the UK (introduced by Blair), both set by government, not the social partners).

In the grand coalition, the Social Democrats wanted a federal one. The CDU preferred the sectoral ones. The relevant debate (national vs sectoral vs professional vs none) is not exclusive to Germany policy circles. I am not sure what the "compromise" agreement Mrs Merkel struck and the media spoke of is. But she did find one!

The same thing applies to a compromise re the social security contributions (a small rise).

Note: The VAT in Germany was raised in the beginning of the year.