WALLONIA, NOT GALLIA!

21 October 2016

Travelling through Wallonia you see idyllic landscapes, valleys, rivers and cities that are testimonials of better times. It is difficult to make the link with the resistance against the CETA agreement. Public opinion is divided between those who admire the courage of those who have taken a principled stand against it and those who question how such a small region of Europe could prevent the EU and Canada from signing.

There are many reasons to be reluctant about CETA although some improvements have been negotiated since the progressive government in Canada led by Justin Trudeau was elected. Nevertheless many questions remain and have been articulated by civil society and the trade union movement on both sides of the Atlantic. Is CETA the Trojan horse of TTIP or does it, in its current form, represent real progress, setting new standards for international trade? The fact is that without the movement against TTIP it would have been more likely that the CETA agreement would have already been signed, as it was not as present on the radar as TTIP was.

The decision of the EU leaders and leaders of member states to launch the ratification through the parliaments was greatly applauded. And now one regional Parliament is opposed which is in the nature of democracy. This leads us to the eternal majority/minority discussion in democracy. And in our understanding, in particular at times when our democracy and our European institutions feel under threat, it is not a sign of strength to  raise pressure on opponents. This view is also expressed in the joint letter to Paul Magnette signed by the 88 MEPs from different political groups. Even if CETA is not signed in its present form, it will not be the end of trade and investment in Europe. Our Europe remains a strong global actor, attracting investment because it is equipped with highly developed and skilled human resources and with a great innovative and transformative capacity, high social standards (although weakened by austerity) and more.

In the balance of interests, what weighs more: respect for the minority or the interests of the majority? In the interest of democracy there is only one issue that matters: respect for democratically elected parliaments and their decision! We should not forget the lessons of the last month: people turn away from democracy when have the impression of losing control and being depossessed. Don’t give them more and new arguments!

SOLIDAR NEWS 

Connecting education, labour market and society
On 20-21 October the European Education, Training and Youth Forum met to discuss Connecting education; the labour market and society: delivering the New Skills Agenda for Europe. This initiative’s goal is to “ensure that the right training, the right skills and the right support is available to people in the European Union.
Read more

UN General Assembly: the world is still lagging behind the struggle for guaranteeing freedom of association at the workplace!
Yesterday, on 20 October 2016, during the 71st United Nations General Assembly the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, Maina Kiai presented its new report Rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association that calls upon states to implement – in accordance with international law – Human and Trade Union Rights on the workplace.
Read more

Social situation in Europe – a lot more needs to be done
The Employment and Social Development in Europe (ESDE) Quarterly Review – autumn 2016 was published on 11 October. The Commission drew a rosy picture: The level of employment increased in almost all member states (except for Croatia and Finland) and has exceeded pre-crisis (2008) levels; Unemployment in the EU is at its lowest rate (8.6%) since March 2009; long-term unemployment and youth unemployment also fell.
Read more

UPCOMING EVENTS 

Lunch time discussion on the ‘Impact of the economic crisis on youth – the Youth Guarantee a new approach to tackling youth unemployment’
Organised by SOLIDAR Foundation and NOVA-Norwegian Social Research in the framework of the NEGOTIATE research project
16 November 2016 | Brussels, Belgium
Registration