FIEC Newsletter -08 Οκτωβρίου 2024

On 1 October more than 100 participants attended the launch of the European Employers’ Institute (EEI) took place in Brussels. FIEC, together with 12 other employers’ organisations and leading associations active at EU and national level, has participated to the creation of the Institute.The EEI will serve as a central hub for cross-industry research on topics of common interest to employers, providing robust data and insights to inform EU policy decisions on social and employment matters. By presenting sound research looking at implications for employers, the EEI aims to complement the work of the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), ensuring a balanced representation of employment-related issues and strengthening the EU Social Dialogue.

The EEI will prioritise areas such as labour market and social policy, industrial relations, health and safety, skills development, and workplace transformation.

At the launch event, FIEC Vice-President Laurentiu Plosceanu shared with the participants the expectations of FIEC regarding the Institute and explained how it can provide a valuable contribute to EU debates.

FIEC is looking forward to beginning this journey of collaboration with the other employers’ organisations.

Stéphane Séjourné has been nominated by European Commission’s President, Ursula von der Leyen, as candidate for the role of Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy. Séjourné recently served as French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.His mission letter mentions among others the revision of the Public Procurement Directives to help ensure security of supply for certain vital technologies, products and services, while simplifying the rules and reducing administrative burden. It should enable preference for European products in Public Procurement for certain strategic sectors and technologies.

In addition, he should also work to enforce the Foreign Subsidies Regulation in coordination with other Members of the College.

Other missions include developing the future European Competitiveness Fund and creating a dedicated SME Passport to reduce administrative burdens and costs.

The European Parliament (EP) will call-in the future candidate-Commissioners proposed by President, Ursula von der Leyen, for their confirmation hearings between 4th and 12th November. The EP is supposed to accept the full College of Commissioners in a next step, so that the Commission will be up and running as from December this year.The proposed College of Commissioners consists of 6 Executive Vice-Presidents and 20 Commissioners, one candidate for each EU Member State. The expertise in their respective portfolios, integrity and possible conflicts of interest are about to be checked by the Members of Parliament (MEPs) during the confirmation hearings. They are organised in the Committees and have become a tool to hold the Commission accountable, as the EP already used its role in the past to replace certain controversial candidates and to force adjustments to certain portfolios.

The MEPs’ goal is to get political commitments from the candidates-Commissioners.

The European Commission takes action to ensure full transposition of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in the EU Member States. The CSRD was published in December 2022 and defined a period of transposition into national law until 6 July 2024. The following countries have failed to do so: Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Finland.By formal notice, the European Commission is now requesting an update on transposition measures taken by the concerned Member States. They have two months to respond and complete their transposition. According to reports and studies, some Member States have not started to draft their respective national legislation and some political actors are calling to re-open negotiations again considering the need to strengthen the continent’s global economic competitiveness. However, in most countries, draft laws are being discussed at national level.
The CSRD introduces rules on sustainability reporting for companies, starting to report on 2024 activities in 2025. It requires detailed external reporting related to environmental, social, and governance topics. The implementation of the rules is meant to be phased in over two years for smaller companies.