Luxembourg , 2nd May 2023.
Honourable Members of the European Parliament,
Honourable Members of the EMPL Committee
The European Confederation of Police (Euro COP), the voice of European police
officers, has noted with great interest the Communication on Strengthening social dialogue in the
European Union: harnessing its full potential for managing fair transitions published by the European
Commission on 25 January 2023. Together with other social partners, Euro COP appreciates the fact
that the Communication does take into account some of its concerns expressed during many hearings
and consultations organised by European Commission services throughout 2022. However, the
Communication does not propose any solution as regards the future organisation and financing of
Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees (SSDCs), which is of great concern to us.
Against this background Euro COP welcomes the European Parliament draft monition for a
resolution on strengthening social dialogue. We would like to express our strong support for the
Parliament`s position, in which it:
“calls on the Commission to maintain its logistical support for sectoral social dialogue
committees and to increase its financial, legal and political support; calls on the Commission to
continue supporting and closely monitoring sectoral social dialogue in order to ensure
alignment between committees and that social dialogue can make a significant contribution to
EU policies; strongly urges the Commission to come up with new proposals that fully respect
social partners’ autonomy and avoid severely devaluing European sectoral social dialogue”.
In a letter from 8 February, addressed to Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis and Commissioner
Nicolas Schmit, together with a group of European employers’ and European trade unions’
associations Euro COP has expressed its “serious concerns about alternative approaches on the
organisation of Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees, notably the idea of multi-annual “project
based” financing, which could endanger both the autonomy of the social partners and their capacity
to come up with meaningful outcomes. The lack of security and predictability of financing could also
threaten the existence of some SSDCs.”
Therefore, Euro COP is calling on the European Parliament and EMPL Committee members to
vote unanimously in favour of point 1 of the draft motion for resolution on strengthening social
dialogue and any relevant amendments, that guarantee proper financial, logistical and political
support for sectoral social dialogue committees. Euro COP would also like to encourage
Members of the European Parliament to make this point vocal during a Plenary debate on that
important topic.
We hope, that the European Parliament resolution will be a strong signal for the European Commission
and that it will help us safeguarding the role of social dialogue in the European Union.
Yours sincerely,
Jonne Rinne
President EuroCOP