European Economic and Social Committee

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APPENDIX II
to the minutes of the
December plenary session
Brussels,

APPENDIX II
to the

MINUTES
of the 512th plenary session
of the
European Economic and Social Committee
held in Brussels
on 9 and 10 December 2015
_____________
Meeting of 10 December 2015
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Agenda item 12
Presentation of the European Commission's 2016 Work Programme and debate on the
European Agenda on Migration, with the participation of Frans Timmermans, first vicepresident of the European Commission with responsibility for better regulation,
interinstitutional relations, the rule of law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights
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EN

The EESC president, Georges Dassis, welcomed Frans Timmermans, first vice-president of the European
Commission, and thanked him for attending. He informed Mr Timmermans that the EESC had adopted by an
overwhelming majority a resolution on the situation of refugees, demonstrating that the representatives of
civil society from the 28 Member States were able to reach an agreement on critical and problematic
situations such as the refugee issue. He added that the EESC planned visits to twelve countries affected by
the flow of refugees, after which the Committee would issue a report.
Mr Timmermans thanked the EESC for the resolution on refugees and said that the EU needed to find a
way of tackling the refugee crisis in order to maintain its role and credibility in solving problems that went
beyond national borders, but also to avoid losing what little trust remained among European citizens. Against
this backdrop, the first vice-president set out the broad lines of the Commission's work programme for 2016,
whose theme "No time for business as usual" was inspired by the current situation, which in his view
warranted more focus on key issues such as migration.
Mr Timmermans referred specifically to the EESC resolution on refugees and agreed that integration was a
key factor in successful management of the current crisis. He added that education was also central to
resolving several problems. In his view, it was unacceptable that many young Europeans were unemployed
while at the same time there were so many unfilled jobs. He therefore underlined the crucial role of
education in bridging the skills gap and reducing unemployment. Education systems must be geared towards
the real needs of our society, while ensuring that people were less likely to drop out of school.
Mr Timmermans pointed out that the EU should not go down the path of competing on wage costs, which
would put an end to the European social system. Europe must move towards innovation and a more
sustainable economy. He underlined the huge opportunities offered by the circular economy for job creation,
and the leading role that Europe could play in this regard. The transition towards the circular economy would
necessitate political choices that affected not just the economy and the environment but also the social fabric
of the EU. In his view, such choices could only be made together with the social partners at local, national
and European level.
Mr Timmermans highlighted the unique position held by the EESC when it came to feeding in civil society
views on the implementation of legislation in the Member States. He therefore called on the EESC to help
the European Commission in its review of existing legislation to ensure it was still fit for purpose. He
stressed the possibilities offered by the REFIT Platform and reiterated that reviewing existing legislation did
not mean lowering social or environmental standards, but making sure that EU law did not impede economic
growth. Finally, he announced that the European Parliament, Council and Commission had reached an
understanding on the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-making, which attached great importance to
the need to review the current stock of legislation. Following the signing of this agreement, the Commission
would now work with the EESC to develop a system that addressed the needs of citizens and SMEs.
Mr Mallia (Group I, MT), rapporteur for the European Agenda on Migration, introduced his opinion,
underlining the importance of not giving in to any far-right rhetoric on the issue. He noted that the opinion
was enriched by the views of the people working on the ground, ascertained through study visits which shed
light on what was happening in different areas. Civil society could play a key role in managing the situation,
but this required coordination and assistance so that action would be more effective. Mr Mallia expressed the

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EESC's support for the "hotspots" system, but flagged up the rushed decisions on whether people could apply
for asylum.
The rapporteur for the second implementation package of the European Agenda on Migration,
Mr Prvulescu (Group III, RO), presented the conclusions of the opinion and pointed out that EU values
were being called into question. In such a context, the EU must show that it was able to preserve its values
and principles and would not get carried away by nationalist selfishness. He referred to the mobilisation of
civil society in most European countries in response to the current crisis, emphasising the need for more
cooperation and support for civil society organisations. Mr Prvulescu noted that the proposed crisis
relocation mechanism evinced European solidarity and responsibility but required a permanent relocation
key that was accepted by the Member States. The rapporteur further underlined the importance of protecting
EU external borders via Frontex while creating humanitarian corridors for refugees.
Ms King (Group I, UK), EESC rapporteur for the EU Action Plan against migrant smuggling, welcomed the
balanced aims stated in the Action Plan but regretted that little detail was given on how to ensure the
protection of human rights and how to address the root causes of irregular migration. She further expressed
her disappointment with the failure to mention refugees in the Action Plan, despite the huge number of
arrivals from the main refugee-producing countries. The Action Plan also failed to spell out how smuggled
migrants, in particular vulnerable groups, would be provided with assistance and protection. Ms King
concluded by congratulating Mr Timmermans on the sustainable European future initiative in the
Commission work programme for 2016 and the link he had made between youth employment and the
situation of refugees and migrants.
The EESC rapporteur for the EU common list of safe countries of origin, Mr Moreno Daz (Group II, ES),
expressed his satisfaction that the EESC had adopted the resolution on refugees, which in his view showed
that the Committee took a holistic and constructive approach to the issue of migration. The Commission's
proposal under consideration dealt with two issues: the idea of drawing up a common list of safe countries of
origin and then the actual list of safe countries proposed by the Commission. He noted that the EESC took a
positive view of this common list, which could provide a basis for a Common European Asylum System.
However, before compiling such a list it would be necessary to first clearly define the criteria for determining
which countries were safe and respected human rights.
Mr Krawczyk (president of Group I, PL) remarked that the migration situation was one of the most
challenging crises that Europe had faced in many years. With this in mind, he underlined the importance of
encouraging solidarity in order to protect the EU's integrity. Europe needed policies on asylum and
migration: integrating refugees would create opportunities for the labour market. The Employers Group
believed that the EU must manage external borders efficiently and protect the Schengen system for the
benefit of citizens, business and economic development. Mr Krawczyk added that the migration and refugee
issue did not affect the EU alone, hence the need for a global response. The president of Group I welcomed
the Commission work programme for 2016, and called for pragmatic priorities which boosted growth and
competitiveness: the single market, industrial policy and youth entrepreneurship, not just youth
unemployment. Finally, he affirmed his group's support for the Better Regulation initiative and the work on
gold-plating, and voiced the group's concern about the impending Posting of Workers Directive.
Ms Bischoff (president of Group II, DE) also pointed out that the EESC's resolution on refugees
demonstrated that civil society, unlike national governments, was managing the situation successfully. She

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called for a sustained effort to integrate not only refugees but also the huge number of unemployed young
people. She regretted Mr Timmermans' failure to explain how the Member States would finance education,
which was key to making integration a success story. With reference to the Better Regulation initiative, the
president of Group II remarked that everyone wanted good legislation but that this must be approached from
a positive perspective rather than merely focusing on the disadvantages of EU legislation. She then enquired
about the publication of the decisions of the new Regulatory Scrutiny Board.
Mr Jahier (president of Group III, IT) referred to Mr Timmermans's comment during a Friends of Europe
event that something had gone terribly wrong in Europe if second- and third-generation migrants had lost
hope and were joining radical movements, and more and more young people were voting for protest parties.
Invoking the increase in poverty, uncertainty about the future and concerns about security, he pointed out that
people were beginning to wonder whether standing together was the best way forward. The president of
Group III echoed the views of previous speakers that the EU needed not only clear solutions to the refugee
crisis and the asylum issue, but also genuine management of external borders and common defence, foreign
and security policies. The creation of a mini-Schengen was unthinkable, while the dismantling of the
Schengen system would lead to the collapse of the whole idea of Europe. Looking forward, he pointed out
that the EU needed to invest in an open Europe based on specific measures, and he called on the Commission
to refer to the conclusions of the EPSCO Council of December 2015 concerning the social economy and
social entrepreneurship.
Ms Schweng (Group I, AT) observed that in today's testing times the fear triggered by the refugee issue
could only be overcome through successful integration. She pointed to the current paradoxical situation
whereby many refugees were coming in amid growing concerns about lack of jobs in a number of countries.
Against this background, she suggested that the EU consider the system of managed migration implemented
in countries like Canada, where migrants could check the needs of the host countries in advance. Such an
approach would allow the EU to get the qualified workers needed in its labour market, and to absorb some
asylum-seekers who did not come from war-torn countries.
Ms Demelenne (Group II, BE) drew attention to the specific proposals put forward in the EESC's resolution
on refugees with respect to safe humanitarian corridors as well as full respect for equal treatment and social
rights of both EU citizens and refugees in Europe. In her view, these European values would help the EU
emerge from the crisis stronger and more united. She then asked Mr Timmermans how he thought the social
partners could help Europe out of the economic and social crisis while reducing social inequalities and
restoring confidence in the European project.
Mr Trantina (Group III, CZ) expressed his sense of pride in the way civil society organisations, unlike some
governments, had saved the human face of Europe by helping and providing an immediate response to the
needs of women, men and children fleeing from conflict zones. He noted the EESC's commitment to giving
voice to these organisations and ensuring that their views and needs were properly taken into account by the
European institutions, governments and other policy-makers. Mr Trantina also pointed to the EESC's
running, in cooperation with the Commission, of the European Migration Forum, which in April 2016 would
focus on legal migration and integration of migrants into the labour market. With this in mind, he enquired
about the added value of the Commission's idea of setting up a platform which basically copied the EESC's
model to facilitate structured dialogue with the business community and social partners on economic
migration and the needs of the European labour market.

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Mr de Buck (Group I, BE) expressed his full support for the competitiveness and better regulation
initiatives. He then asked Mr Timmermans about the basis of the EU approach on migration, the need to
clarify the EU's international obligations under the Geneva Convention, the extent to which the Schengen
system could be adapted, and the financing options of costs relating to the reception of refugees and the
possibility that these costs be taken into account through more flexibility in the Stability and Growth Pact.
Mr Siecker (Group II, NL) remarked that in May the Commission had announced proposals on carcinogens,
but that the list would only be available in 2020. The growing number of people in Europe dying because
their work exposed them to carcinogens testified to the urgency of this matter. In his view, the scientific
knowledge available at national level must be used to speed things up. He referred to the agreement on this
issue arrived at during the social dialogue, and enquired whether the Commission would take it on board. He
then underlined the importance of gender equality, with particular reference to the gender pay gap.
Ms Slavova (Group III, BG) noted that an estimated 850 000 refugees and migrants had arrived in Europe by
sea in 2015, while physical and psychological walls were being erected all over Europe. In this context, she
lauded the consistent and constant efforts of the Commission to mount a coordinated response. She
wondered, nevertheless, whether EU action would be sufficiently swift and united, and whether it would
have the desired effect. For citizens not to lose trust, in her view the EU must act with responsibility,
solidarity and tolerance.
In response to the comments made by the EESC members, Mr Timmermans first talked about the paradigm
shift in European society away from the expectation of progress and automatic growth and towards real
socio-economic concerns about the future. He underlined that presenting austerity as the cause of or panacea
for all problems in our ever-changing society would be short-sighted and misleading. In his view, the EU
needed more growth, more investment and more reforms in some countries, alongside an optimistic and
positive image of the future in order to increase acceptance of the inevitable reforms of our societies. Those
reforms needed to be coordinated and organised in order to ensure that the weakest did not suffer.
Mr Timmermans pointed out that the declining popularity of mainstream politics also reflected the struggle
of employers' associations, trade unions and civil society organisations to convince their members that
joining forces and supporting a common cause was beneficial to all. In this vein, he commended the
willingness of volunteer organisations helping refugees all over Europe; their concerted action challenged the
inward-looking and populist voices of some EU leaders, who rather than being mindful of the bigger picture
were more determined to "get something" from Brussels even at the expense of the greater good.
Mr Timmermans expressed his belief that despite its shortcomings, the EU still offered the best chance of
solving common European problems and added that the future of the European project would be jeopardised
if the EU was not able to address shared challenges in a collective spirit.
Solidarity could not exist without borders, however. In this respect, Mr Timmermans mentioned the joint
European responsibility to protect the EU's external borders while ensuring the continuity of the Schengen
system. Any misguided ideas of a mini-Schengen were doomed to fail. He then pointed to the destructive
frictions and misunderstandings between East and West about how to provide solidarity and noted that
solidarity meant not just altruism but also enlightened self-interest whereby people reached out to others in
need and expected to be helped in return when they were in need. This was a basic building-block of the
European social system.

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Mr Timmermans further stressed that in today's more diverse world the way forward was not xenophobic
politics, scaremongering or building fences around a small country, but pooling efforts and financial
contributions to protect external borders and to improve education and integration in the labour market. In
that regard, he noted that it was not the Commission's role to tell the Member States how to balance their
national budgets and finance education projects in the light of long-term economic growth and investment.
He added, however, that the new Juncker Plan created the conditions for such investment.
In order to curb abuse and prevent the asylum system from being undermined, Mr Timmermans
acknowledged the pressing need to set up adequate and clear mechanisms to distinguish between genuine
refugees and migrants who did not have the right to international protection. This would require prompt and
proper registration upon arrival, fingerprinting and identification, and the return of those who did not qualify
for asylum. Economic migration could replenish our societies depending on the needs of the labour market,
but wide-open doors were unfeasible and unmanageable. He also underscored the need to establish a
common list of safe countries of origin which included EU candidate countries fulfilling the Copenhagen
criteria, but noted that this did not mean that asylum applications of citizens from those countries would be
automatically rejected.
Mr Timmermans explained that the Better Regulation initiative aimed to cut unnecessary red tape and
enhance transparency, including in conjunction with gold-plating. He confirmed that all decisions of the
Regulatory Scrutiny Board would be published online and expressed the hope that the co-legislators would
be persuaded to assess the impact of their substantial amendments to the Commission's proposals. He said
that the Commission would take on board the comments on carcinogens, and assured the Committee that the
aim of the new platform on economic migration was to have smaller-scale and more targeted discussions on
labour market needs. It would thus complement, not replace, the European Migration Forum.
Mr Timmermans concluded by highlighting the critical importance of the freedom of movement principle
underlying the European economic model. However, people did not necessarily consider moving to and
working in another country as something positive. In this connection, he referred to the targeted revision of
the Posting of Workers Directive to address social dumping and to ensure that the same work in the same
place was rewarded by the same pay, and called for the EESC's input in this regard.
Mr Dassis thanked Mr Timmermans for his extensive replies and noted that better regulation did not imply a
dilution of EU citizens' rights. He also underlined that the EESC, which had repeatedly demonstrated that
civil society was able to speak with a single voice, could make a significant and effective contribution to
developing the European pillar of social rights.
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