PRESS RELEASE No 72/2011 / 23 June 2011
Rue Belliard/Belliardstraat 99 – 1040 Bruxelles/Brussel – BELGIQUE/BELGIË
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Internal Market revision: an opportunity to redress labour problems in Europe
On Thursday 30 June 2011, the Workers Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will hold an extraordinary meeting in Warsaw, Poland.It will be discussing the revision of the internal market with specific focus on its social dimension. The meeting will also be an opportunity for the upcoming Polish Presidency to present its priorities in this field.
"The Workers Group pays particular attention to the difficult social situation onthe labour market in the European Union", stressed Georges Dassis, president of the EESC's Workers Group, launching the meeting. "This extraordinary meeting gives us the opportunity to discuss the potential of the internal market in addressing the future of employment in Europe."
The programmefor the meeting includes three working sessions:
The first session will concentrate mainly on the economic and social situation in Poland. The two main guests, Waldemar Pawlak, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy, and Jolanta Fedak, Minister for Labour and Social Policy,will start by discussing the current economic climate in their own country before outlining the priorities of the upcoming Polish Presidency of the European Union. Their presentations will be followed by a discussion with contributions fromJan Guz, President of the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (OPZZ), PiotrDuda, President of NSZZ Solidarność, and Tadeusz Chwałka, President of the Forum of Trade Unions.
The second session will be dedicated to the revision of the internal market and to the social and economic crisis in Europe. The session will be opened by Jozef Niemiec, Deputy General Secretary of the ETUC.
Discussions at the last session will focus on the social dimension of the internal market, with an introduction by Joël Decaillon, former Deputy General Secretary at the ETUC.
The debates at the three sessions will feature contributions by members of the EESC Workers Group who are experts in the internal market and social issues, includingEdgardo Iozia (Italy),President of the Single Market Observatory, Martin Siecker (Netherlands), Armin Duttine (Germany),Raymond Hencks (Luxembourg), President of the permanent study group on services of general interest, Gabriela Bischoff (Germany) and Christoph Lechner (Austria).
Practical InformationWhen: 30 June 2011 – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Ministry of the Economy
Plac Trzech Krzyży 3/5, 00-507 Warsaw / For further information, please contact:
Maciej Bury
EESC Press Office
Tel.: +32 25468641
Rue Belliard/Belliardstraat 99 – 1040 Bruxelles/Brussel – BELGIQUE/BELGIË
Tel. +32 25469396 – Fax +32 25469764
Email: – Internet: