Ahead of the start of the German Council Presidency on July 1, the Presidium of CESI determined core trade union policy priorities during the next six months.

The core priorities include the following:

• The German Council Presidency should strive to raise the transparency of the work of the Council. CESI calls for all European social partners to be credibly involved in the work of the Council Presidency, including independent trade unions.

• The German Council Presidency should drive forward with determination the European Commission’s original work programme for 2020 in the sphere of employment and social policies– in particular the planned initiatives related to minimum wages, an unemployment reinsurance scheme and pay transparency – despite and indeed because of in the Corona crisis, which must not become a social crisis.

• The German Council Presidency should strive to reach a swift agreement among the Member States for an ambitious and solidarity-based EU response to the economic and financial fallout of the Corona crisis in the Member States. The Presidency should take the European Commission’s proposal for a Recovery Plan of May 27 2020 as a useful basis for a compromise and actively support the proposed funding mechanisms and principles.

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