Voorzitters van nationale economische en sociale raden bijeen om te praten over financiële crisis (en)

3 December 2008

The meeting of presidents and secretaries-general of national ESCs and the EESC, hosted by Sonny Portelli, chairman of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, took place in Valetta, Malta, on 24-28 November 2008. Mario Sepi, the President of the European Economic and Social Committee, together with the Secretary General, Martin Westlake, attended and met the President of the Republic of Malta and many members of the Maltese government, discussing key items on the European agenda.

The Maltese President, Edward Fenech Adami, talked with Mr Sepi at length on the importance of ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon, especially in the light of the EU's present difficult phase.

During discussions on the economic and financial crisis with finance minister John Dalli, Mario Sepi put the spotlight on the Maltese government's initiative envisaging reductions in charges for services, given their impact on citizens' purchasing power.

Talks between Mr Sepi and the Maltese prime minister, Lawrence Gonzi, focused on how the implementation of EU legislation was monitored. Mario Sepi pointed out that the impact of European legislation on individual national systems had to be properly assessed.

Sonny Portelli, chairman of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, advocated increasingly close cooperation between the EESC and national ESCs, primarily in order to tackle the difficult international economic crisis.

An extraordinary meeting of national ESC presidents is to be held in Brussels in March to review the measures taken by EU Member States in the economic and financial sector. To prepare for the meeting, each member is to list the specific measures adopted in his or her country.

Immigration policy featured among other issues tackled at the meeting. Mario Sepi forcefully recalled that immigrants were human beings first and foremost, stressing that Member States such as Malta and Italy, with a strong history of emigration, should be especially sensitive when implementing social and inclusive policies.

Staffan Nilsson, as President of the EESC's Lisbon Strategy Observatory, has been grateful for the participation of the national ESCs during the last two years and underlined the importance of cooperation about the Lisbon Strategy. The next meeting with the presence of the national ESCs would take place on 10 February 2009, he announced.

Mr Jacques Dermagne, president of the French Economic, Environmental and Social Council, stressed the importance of developing a monitoring system for the transposition of the Bolkestein Directive in order to raise awareness of Member State initiatives; this would create a system for sharing good practice.