On Wednesday 14 October, Rainer Plassmann, CEEP President, and Valeria Ronzitti, CEEP General Secretary, addressed the Tripartite Social Summit (TSS) videoconference. In presence of, amongst others, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, CEEP called for the clear recognition of the role played by services of general interest during the COVID-19 crisis and on the path to recovery.

During the opening round, President Plassmann said:

“Overall, we call for a clear recognition of Services of General Interest by all Member States as the key ingredient to making society resilient to future crises. This is proved by the projects that our members are presenting to their governments in the context of the National Recovery Plans.”

“CEEP calls for the EU institutions to propose solutions and mechanisms to address and sanction breaches of the rule of law and to make sure our recovery is made into a real democratic process involving social partners and essential service providers in every step.”

At the occasion of the TSS, CEEP also presented a first version of a compilation of investment plans submitted by CEEP members from across Europe to the National Recovery Plans, highlighting the expected impacts on the overarching priorities of the EU.

Read the full press release here.