What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Articles 3 and 5 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU),

– having regard to Articles 9, 151, 152, 153, 156, 157, 162 and 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

– having regard to Protocols 1, 8 and 28 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and in particular Title IV (Solidarity) thereof,

– having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), proclaimed by the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission in November 2017,

– having regard to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,

– having regard to the Paris Agreement reached at COP21 in 2015, and specifically its preamble ‘urging Parties, in implementing their policies and measures, to promote a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development priorities and strategies’,

– having regard to the ILO conventions and recommendations, in particular the Labour Inspection Convention of 1947 (No 81), the ILO Centenary Declaration (2019) and the ILO Guidelines of February 2016 for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all,

– having regard to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular goals 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10 and 13,

– having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and its entry into force in the EU on 21 January 2011, in accordance with Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009 on the conclusion by the European Community of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,

– having regard to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,

– having regard to Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (Employment Equality Directive),

– having regard to Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin,

– having regard to the Commission proposal for a Council directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (COM(2008)0426) and Parliament’s position thereon of 2 April 2009,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 14 January 2020 entitled ‘A strong and social Europe for just transitions’ (COM(2020)0014),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 11 December 2019 on the European Green Deal (COM(2019)0640),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 27 May 2020 entitled ‘Europe’s moment: Repair and Prepare for the Next Generation’ (COM(2020)0456),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 27 May 2020 entitled ‘The EU budget powering the recovery plan for Europe (COM(2020)0442),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 27 May 2020 entitled ‘Adjusted Commission Work Programme 2020’ (COM(2020)0440),

– having regard to the Commission proposal of 28 May 2020 for a Council regulation establishing a European Union Recovery Instrument to support the recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic (COM(2020)0441),

– having regard to its resolution of 19 June 2020 on European protection of cross-border and seasonal workers in the context of the COVID-19 crisis,

– having regard to the Commission report of 17 June 2020 on the impact of demographic change (COM(2020)0241),

– having regard to the opinion of the European Committee of the Regions of 18 January 2017 entitled ‘The EU response to the demographic challenge’ (2017/C017/08),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 19 February 2020 entitled ‘Shaping Europe’s digital future’(COM(2020)0067),

– having regard to the Commission proposal of 1 July 2020 for a Council recommendation on vocational education and training (VET) for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience (COM(2020)0275),

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 1 July 2020 accompanying the proposal for a Council recommendation on ‘A Bridge to Jobs - reinforcing the Youth Guarantee’ (SWD(2020)0124),

– having regard to its legislative resolution of 10 July 2020 on the proposal for a Council decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States,

– having regard to its legislative resolution of 8 July 2020 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards the resources for the specific allocation for the Youth Employment Initiative,

– having regard to its resolution of 10 October 2019 on employment and social policies of the euro area,

– having regard to its legislative resolution of 4 April 2019 on the proposal for a Council decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs on the European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social aspects in the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2020,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 17 December 2019 on the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2020 (COM(2019)0650),

– having regard to the proposal for a joint employment report from the Commission and the Council of 17 December 2019 accompanying the communication on the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2020,

– having regard to Council Decision (EU) 2019/1181 of 8 July 2019 on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States,

– having regard to its resolution of 13 March 2019 on the European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social aspects in the Annual Growth Survey 2019,

– having regard to the ‘Political Guidelines for the next European Commission 2019-2024: A Union that Strives for More’, presented by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 23 January 2019 on ‘Social dialogue for innovation in digital economy’,

– having regard to the Commission’s Spring 2020 Economic Forecast of 6 May 2020,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 18 September 2020 on ‘Decent minimum wages across Europe’,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 15 July 2020 on ‘Recovery plan for Europe and the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027’,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 11 December 2019 on ‘Common Minimum Standards in the field of unemployment insurance in EU Member States – A concrete step towards the effective implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights’,

– having regard to the study by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) entitled ‘COVID-19: Policy responses across Europe’,

– having regard to the Joint Research Centre Technical Report entitled ‘The COVID confinement measures and EU labour markets’, published in 2020 and, in particular, to its analysis of the most recent evidence available of the patterns of telework in the EU,

– having regard to the revised European Social Charter and to the Turin Process, launched in 2014 with the aim of strengthening the treaty system of the European Social Charter within the Council of Europe as well as its relationship with the law of the European Union,

– having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Culture and Education and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A9-0233/2020),

B. whereas there are emerging challenges that Europe is facing, such as increasing inequalities between generations, diminished social, health, economic and environmental opportunities and resources, territorial disparities, and unequal access to fundamental social and health services, jobs and business opportunities and social infrastructure; whereas reducing inequalities is a shared responsibility of the EU and the Member States; whereas inequalities (of income and of opportunities) have risen in a majority of Member States since the 2008 economic crisis, challenging both the sustainability and inclusiveness of growth and social cohesion, and in this context progress towards the EU 2020 targets has been difficult;

C. whereas there is a strong and assumed need for just transitions, in Europe and the world, to sustainable resource exploitation, lowering of CO2 emissions and strong protection of the environment, in order to safeguard the livelihoods, security, health and prosperity of future generations; whereas the transitions towards a stable and sustainable green and environment-friendly economy and social dimension will require cooperation between public and private actors, and must be accompanied by a process of reindustrialisation, modernisation of the industrial base and strengthening of the internal market; whereas the green, digital and demographic transitions affect European regions, sectors, workers and population groups in different ways and these transitions will require significant reskilling and labour reallocation in order to prevent job destruction in affected sectors;

D. whereas the European regions where there is the greatest need for a sustainable transition are generally also those with high levels of poverty and exclusion; whereas decisive measures and investment are needed for a speedy recovery that should focus on mitigating the economic and social effects of the pandemic, restart economic activity, fostering sustainable development, the green transition and the digital transformation, and implementing the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights in order to achieve more effective and stronger welfare states; whereas an internationally competitive Europe must be based on a strong social Europe in order to create a path to sustainable growth, quality jobs and robust social welfare systems for all;

E. whereas Eurofound research reveals the complexity of the social dimension of the European Union and suggests complementing the Social Scoreboard accompanying the European Pillar of Social Rights with additional indicators covering job quality, social justice and equal opportunities, robust social welfare systems and fair mobility;

F. whereas the Europe 2020 strategy was launched in 2010 for the promotion of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth; whereas the implementation of the Lisbon strategy should have given more priority to sustainability and inclusiveness rather than growth;

G. whereas, as stated in Article 151 TFEU, the Union and the Member States, having in mind fundamental social rights such as those set out in the European Social Charter signed in Turin on 18 October 1961 and in the 1989 Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers, have as objectives the promotion of employment, improved living and working conditions so as to make possible their harmonisation while the improvement is being maintained, as well as proper social protection, dialogue between management and labour, the development of human resources with a view to lasting high employment, and the combating of exclusion; whereas initiatives originating from the European Pillar of Social Rights are a shared responsibility between the EU and the Member States, which have different social systems and traditions; whereas, therefore, such initiatives should protect national collective bargaining systems, offering higher levels of protection; whereas fundamental rights, proportionality, legal certainty, equality before the law and subsidiarity are general principles of EU law and as such must be respected;

H. whereas women are under-represented in economic and political leadership positions deciding on the policy responses to COVID-19; whereas women should be included in decision-making to bring in more perspectives, knowledge and experience, which would lead to better policy outputs;