Published Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 15:31
by
mochinho 
in Debate (153 views and 0 comments)
This claim may be the essence of the discussion which the German Member of the Federal Parliament, Ortwin Runde (SPD), had invited to in Hamburg, Germany, on 2008-11-06. Subject of this evening meeting was how the current financial crisis could be mastered. As special guests Runde could welcome trade union chairman Michael Sommer (DGB), Knut Fleckenstein (SPD, Member of the Hamburg Parliament, MEP candidate 2009), and the former Secretary of State Dr. Cornelie Sonntag-Wolgast (SPD).
The panel reminded that today’s measures towards the financial
crisis were against the zeitgeist of the last 30 years which were
neo-liberal or market-radical then. People claiming these tools
had been laughed at and been put aside. Obviously the current
crisis will affect the small people in the end. Therefore the SPD
and the trade unions have to back these people and develop a
convincing socio-financial policy. The panel was of the opinion
that the economy has to be democratically controlled and that the
state should use and demand its influence. No one doubted the
(social) free-market economy, but the panel saw today’s world
economy as a kind of casino capitalism. The debaters argued that
the former German red-green government had its share in the
problematic developments in Germany. However, that government had
been fallen victim of the former zeitgeist, but could withstand a
total subjection under pure economic interests, e.g. in the field
of consumer...
Published Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 23:04
by
carl0s
in Debate (470 views and 0 comments)
We face economic
challenges not seen for generations.
This is the time when we must state the case for socialism.
We have a clear decision. We can stand by, and leave the public to pick up the pieces afterwards, in what could be the worst recession since the 1930s.
Or we provide a clear alternative. And here are 5 points for discussion:
- establishment of fixed exchange rates with any fluctuations subject to 95% Tobin tax
- a massive public works program based on harnessing renewable energy sources and transport, bringing existing African-based solar projects forward
- all bank interest rates determined by the ECB or national bank
- bank statutes to contain elected representation and to represent all stakeholders
- immediate implementation of emergency anti-poverty programmes across the EU, including social enterprise and community projects, with emphasis on the young and the elderly
and I'm sure we can think of more...
read morePublished Monday, October 6, 2008 at 17:28
by
Editor
in Debate (484 views and 0 comments)
Tomorrow, October 7 2008, the trade union movement is organising
a World Day for Decent Work, a broad global mobilisation day
focusing on three themes: Right at Work, Solidarity, Ending
Poverty and Inequality.
Take the opportunity to give your contribution, join the WDDW and
take part in the activities! You can find out the closest one on
the official website.
“Decent Work Decent Life”, because every person should be able to
have job that enable to live a good life. This is the theme of
the call for action which is going to be presented tomorrow to
the highest EU representatives in Brussels.
read more
Published Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 10:28
by
julian_schaerbeek
in Debate (657 views and 3 comments)
Socialists should listen more to genuine public concerns about the impact on public services of migration, UK Immigration Minister Liam Byrne told a fringe meeting at Labour Party conference in Manchester.
He argued that immigration was a fact of globalisation, and that Britain is richer as a result of migration – but that impacts on schools, hospitals and housing were real and that local and national Government must do more to anticipate and deal with these impacts.
Byrne outlined what the Labour Government was doing create a fair and progressive migration policy including independent assessment of the skills needed in the country, a points system for legal migration, a clampdown on illegal immigration (including illegal work and illegal employers), and better planning to anticipate impacts on services. He also said that more needed to be done about integration – especially language acquisition – and that employers would be expected to contribute to language training of migrant staff.
Interesting ideas ...
read morePublished Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 16:22
by
carl0s
in Debate (563 views and 1 comments)
Current events illustrate systemic and institutional problems with how the world economy is organised. As European socialists, we form the single biggest opposition to a re-run of the Great Depression. We're already backing comprehensive healthcare and social security. We support trades unions in their attempts to protect negotiating rights and stop a dash to the bottom of the wage ladder. Most of all we will try to prevent a wave of repossessions from throwing families onto the street.
But what can we do about the financial markets - how can we ensure stability in the economy? Or are we resigned to cycles of mad speculation? How should we ensure that banking is for the benefit of all, rather than speculators?
We know that nationalisation works, as the US and UK governments have opted for this as the last resort for banks on the brink of collapse. Now it's up to us to think about how social ownership can form a platform for future, sustainable banking systems, where leverage is controlled and tightly managed. And most of all, where the promise of a "fast buck" for doing nothing takes second place to the wider requirements of people.
Should the EU itself be the institution which directs the socialisation of banking? Or can it be left to national governments? After all, we are talking about trillions of euros of bad debt cascading through the system. Surely it requires more than one nation state?
Let's not forget what happened...
read morePublished Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at 10:00
by
julian_schaerbeek
in Debate (986 views and 1 comments)
"International
solidarity is the principle that unites us" said Jacinda Ardern,
President of the International Union of Socialist Youth at a
meeting on international solidarity at ECOSY summer camp. Without
international solidarity other principles such as peace, democracy,
social justice and equality are meanginless she added. Citing the
case of workers in the Phillipines who work 24 hour shifts for 75%
of the national minimum wage because they are classed as
"apprentices", Jacinda pointed out that employment, economic growth
and poverty were not mutually exclusive. Now there is a message for
the world trade talks that look like having new life... trade alone
won't lift people out of poverty - we also need strong trade unions
and good employment and social policies. We all know it but it's
important to be reminded.
read more
Published Monday, July 14, 2008 at 15:24
by
Editor
in Debate (1018 views and 5 comments)
What should Europe do to deal with migration? And what should be the PES position on the issue? After the adoption by the European Parliament of the directive on the return of illegal immigrants, the question became (even more) crucial!
António Vitorino, former Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, defends that there is a need to have a “balanced migration policy”. That is to say that, on the one hand, Europe should “fight illegal migration” and, on the other hand, it is necessary to establish long term cooperation agreements with the countries of origin of immigrants. And let's not forget the humanitarian factor: immigrants should be treated with dignity!
What do you think Europe should head for on this issue? In your opinion how can Europe conciliate its needs of migrants and the security concerns...
read morePublished Friday, July 4, 2008 at 10:23
by
franciscopolo
in New Social Europe (844 views and 0 comments)
As you all know the
European Central Bank has its main goal to control the interest
rates, that is to say, the price of money in the eurozone. The
matter is that the Federal Reserve of the United States is
keeping an interest rate much lower than the European ones. While
we are having a 4% interest rate, in the States the interest rate
is around 2%.
This has several consequences but the most important ones are that our companies can’t invest so they can’t become more competitive and that our products become more expensive abroad Europe so our companies become even less competitive.
If we add to all that the fact that oil is having peak prices almost everyday so everything is becoming more expensive for them, the result is easy to see: they are trapped.
In order to face this situation “the European Central Bank should ask itself not only about inflation but also about economic growth”, Mr. Sarkozy said. “You can double interest rates and that will not make go down the price of the Brent barrel”.
This is a position held by Sarko. I wrote about it yesterday in my blog. And then I wondered…
What’s our political response to the economy crisis?
read morePublished Friday, June 27, 2008 at 09:53
by
chourka
in New Social Europe (712 views and 1 comments)
Voilà une idée
originale portée par les camarades du SP.a qui mériterait d'être
étudiée sérieusement et pourquoi pas reprise dans notre manifeste
électoral.
De quoi s'agit-il exactement ?
On sait que les forces de police sont coordonnées au niveau européen par EUROPOL pour ce qui concerne les questions liées aux trafics en tout genre, le terrorisme. Bien que cette institution naissante aurait besoin de moyens pour fonctionner efficacement, elle a le mérite d'exister.
Ce que propose nos camarades belges, c'est que dans le domaine social, une sorte d'inspection européenne du Travail soit mise en place et que celle-ci puisse contrôler le respect au sein des Etats-membres des droits sociaux dans le but d'éviter le dumping social.
Dans de nombreuses contributions, revient également l'idée d'une harmonisation vers le haut des droits sociaux. Parfois avec des variations comme celle sur l'imposition d'un salaire minimum européen. Le SP.a ne précise pas comment il l'imagine son application quand la Fédération de Paris indique qu'il doit être calculé en fonction de l'échelle nationale des...
read morePublished Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 09:48
by
franciscopolo
in New Social Europe (947 views and 1 comments)
On 10 June the Labour
Ministries of the European Union agreed the possibility of
enlarging the work journey to 60 hour or, eventually, 65 hours if
the company and the worker agree to do so.
The reaction in Spain: this is a clear attack to the Social Europe we are trying to achieve and we are not going to assume it easily.
Today in Europe, the maximum work journey is set at 48 hours per week. It was set this way by the International Labour Organisation in 1917. According to Lourdes Muñoz a recognised socialist blogger in Spain:
This Directive will eliminate the right to rest during the continued working journeys, it attempts against the safety and health at the work place and difficult the conciliation of personal and working life.
The promoters of this initiative affirm that this Directive will implement the freedom to individually negotiate the length of our own working journey but as we all know theory is theory and there will be no negotiation. Individualisation of the working relations will break balance.
Fighting in favour of...
read morePublished Monday, June 23, 2008 at 09:06
by
_EPSU_
in New Social Europe (659 views and 0 comments)
Quality employment and quality public services and not “market obligations” should be the driving principles for the European Union in order to foster social inclusion, equality and solidarity.
The European Federation of Public Services Unions (EPSU) welcomes PES initiatives striving for better public services such as the call for a specific horizontal framework that should set out concrete quality standards and criteria. This horizontal legal framework, based on the public services protocol annexed to the Lisbon Treaty, could serve as a departure point for sectoral initiatives and could be an opportunity to give more scope for the inclusion of social and environmental criteria in public procurement contracts and in productivity indicators, to raise good administration, transparency, democratic control, to promote more gender equality and to guarantee equal access to public services.
Concerning employment, a “quality work” has to be preferred to a “flexisecurity approach”. In this respect, EPSU advocates fair working conditions, full rights and representation including better collective bargaining rights. There is also the need to do more in order to improve gender equality and to promote life-long learning especially in the hospital sector....
read morePublished Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 09:25
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (750 views and 0 comments)
Don’t give up on New Social Europe!
The European social model needs to be renovated but its bases must be preserved. While we debate the reform of the European social model, we need to also debate the reform of globalisation. This includes, for example, the need for national and international redistribution and the need to stop the race to the bottom, both in taxes (so that states can afford good education and welfare for everyone) by initiating an international tax-cooperation, and in social standards by starting international cooperation to raise them.
We need concrete measures to ensure globalisation is politically controlled, such as a single EU representation in international financial institutions, the establishment of a UN Economic Security Council, and an efficient control over tax havens
Tackling social insecurity
read morePublished Monday, June 9, 2008 at 21:03
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (649 views and 0 comments)
No differences between
workers from the West and the East. This was one of the conclusions
of the debate organized by the Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party (LSDSP)
on the “New Social Europe” and the PES manifesto.
The debate, a two-day event that that took place late April, gathered participants from the party in Riga. Among the speakers was Philip Cordery, Secretary-General of the PES, who presented the PES report on “New Social Europe”. This set off a discussion on the recent ‘Laval case’ where Swedish trade unions took action against a Latvian construction company in Sweden, violating collective agreements. The case was brought to the European Court of Justice which delivered a controversial ruling: Swedish trade unions cannot oblige a foreign company posting workers in Sweden to observe collective bargaining agreements. The 80 meeting participants stated their support for the position of the PES and agreed that Latvians working abroad should be entitled to the same rights as local workers.
There were also other ideas put forward for the PES manifesto:
Published Friday, June 6, 2008 at 11:14
by
Richard_Falbr
in New Social Europe (642 views and 0 comments)
In 1990 the Czech
trade unionists had to solve a difficult task: how to transform or
create trade unions which should be recognized by trade unions in
democratic states?
In the totalitarian regimes the trade unions were a transmition belt of the communist party. They existed as a kind of social institution organizing holidays and socialist emulation. They were something like the vertical unions in Spain during the Franco's regime. There was no collective bargaining, and the only positive element of their attitude was the free of charge representation of the members before tribunals in labour disputes. After the great General Strike in November 1989 Strike Committees were created and then the Coordination Centre of the strike committees was created in the capital of Moravia, Brno. So a parallel structure with the former communist "Revolutionary Trade Union Movement" was born. At congresses in January 1990 sixty unions were established. Then in March the Czechoslovak confederation of trade unions was created. The Confederation became the member of the ICFTU in May 1999.
The important result of the Congress which was free, democratic and supervised by observers from trade unions of democratic states was unique: the new trade union structures took over all the...
read morePublished Thursday, June 5, 2008 at 11:50
by
Richard_Falbr
in New Social Europe (752 views and 0 comments)
The golden
sixties, era when the Unions had the greatest influence and
success, will probably never come back. Those were the days when
the Unions in democratic states helped to increase the standards of
living of the workers, and even diminished the difference between
the white and the blue collar workers.
The Unions helped to create the European social model. Backed by the ILO, the Tripartite organization created after the end of the First World War, the Unions together with the employer's organizations and governments which did not want to risk another Great October Revolution adopted conventions later ratified by the majority of democratic states. And so the conventions on the right to organize the working time, the ban of slavery, the right of collective bargaining, were considered and respected as rules of the civilized and democratic world.
Fall of the ILO
After the fall of the Berlin Wall the enemy which was behind it suddenly appeared among us. And the influence of the ILO and its control mechanisms began to fail.
read morePublished Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at 09:55
by
Richard_Falbr
in New Social Europe (792 views and 1 comments)
The Czechs welcome the
declaration of president Sarkozy. The opening of the market however
does not mean that the Czechs will rush to France. We are very
conservative and we do not move even from regions where the
unemployment rates are high to regions where there is lack of work
force.Published Monday, June 2, 2008 at 21:31
by
liebetruth
in New Social Europe (666 views and 1 comments)
I believe
courageous steps towards a social Europe are needed to tackle the
challenges that Socialists and Social Democrats are facing all
across the continent before the elections for the European
Parliament (EP) in 2009. The trust of the citizens into the
European Union and politics in Europe in general can and must be
rebuilt. To reach this goal the PES campaign has to make clear
that a truly social Europe is possible – and that PES is the only
European political party which fully commits itself to turning
the vision of a social Europe into reality!
Social mainstreaming, Common EU minimum social standards and stronger EU social policies are needed to make clear that a New Social Europe is possible! We expect from PES to fully commit itself to building this New Social Europe in the 2009 electoralcampaign. This commitment is the key to rebuilding people’s trust into the European Union and a successful PES at the 2009 European elections.
Our map towards Social Europe
I am convinced that the following courageous steps are needed to reach a truly social Europe and should therefore become the centerpiece of the PES manifesto for the European elections 2009:
read morePublished Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 10:20
by
jan.kreutz
in New Social Europe (706 views and 0 comments)
Dear
comrades,Published Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 12:42
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (1050 views and 0 comments)
Yes, but… a revision
needs to be done. The social dimension of the Lisbon Agenda and
perspectives for post 2010 EU strategy were key issues on the
agenda of the seminar on the New Social Europe of the
PES Group
in the Committee of Regions on 7 April 2008. The seminar is
part of the group’s contribution to the PES manifesto
consultation.Published Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 10:44
by
noelhatch
in New Social Europe (959 views and 3 comments)
Deborah Littman, Chair of London
Citizens Living Wage Network & UNISON
National Officer for Bargaining, at the New Social Europe debate in London, admitted she wholly agreed with many of
the proposals made in the New Social Europe discussion paper. But she
was concerned on how we get there, how we make social Europe a
concern for everyone.
Work has been made insecure, the social wage has been reduced and
there has been a steep decline in bargaining power from workers.
Communities have been dismantled, workers distanced from their
employers or contractors. There has been a very deliberate policy
to push back the gains of the workers, often by stealth.
Expectations have been constantly lowered to the extent that our
goal becomes not how we can make it better, but how can we
prevent it being that bad. How can you organise when you don’t
know who you’re actually working for? The trade unions struggle
with bargaining, sometimes too conservative in their approach.
The game has changed – we need to...
Published Friday, April 4, 2008 at 11:43
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (905 views and 0 comments)
What is the future
of social democracy in Estonia and Europe? This was the big
question posed at conference in Tallinn, Estonia Friday 28
March?. More than 200 people took the opportunity to discuss how
Europe’s social democrats should approach the future. Many
prominent guests were among the speakers: Toomas Hendrik Ilves,
President of the Republic of Estonia, Ivari Padar, leader of the
Estonian Social Democratic Party, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, PES
President and Zita Gurmai, President of PES Women.
During the speech of the PES President he invited all Estonian
social democrats to share their ideas for the PES manifesto – at
the conference as well as here on Yourspace. With only 1.4
million citizens this Baltic country is one of Europe’s smallest
nations, but there are certainly lots of visions and ideas to be
found in Estonia.
A much debated topic was the introduction of ‘flexicurity’ in
Estonia and the rest of Europe. Flexicurity is a combination of
flexibility and social security. Successfully combining
flexibility and high social benefits leads to both economic
growth and high employment – as in the case of Denmark where
flexicurity was introduced in the 1990s. Unfortunately,
conservatives often view flexicurity as an excuse just to
introduce more liberal labour laws....
Published Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 16:33
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (939 views and 0 comments)
Here is the last of
four reports from the manifesto debate in Denmark:
The manifesto theme 'New Social Europe' was one of the topics of
discussion when PES activists from Denmark, Sweden and Norway met
in Jørlunde, Denmark on March 1st and 2nd 2008. Here are the
conclusions from this dedicated discussion group:
Ole Christensen, MEP, introduced the workshop by speaking about
labour market policy in a new social Europe. One of the main
focuses was the role of Court of Justice in connection to the
Vaxholm case regarding the labour market models in the Nordic
countries.
The case was seen in connection to the increased mobility, out
posting of labour and the terms offered the employees as well as
the competition between foreign and domestic labour in relation
to collective bargaining.
The focus was also on the Danish labour market model and
flexicurity, the role of the parties within the labour market,
the social dialogue, rights and duties.
These great social democratic challenges were highlighted during
the discussion:
Published Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 15:04
by
ania_skrzypek
in New Social Europe (1131 views and 3 comments)
Not a long time ago,
by November 2007, ECOSY celebrated its 15 years anniversary. For that
occasion we asked our members why they joined the movement. Among
many answers the leading one was undoubtedly: because I wanted to
make a difference, because I wanted to change… Naïve? I would not
say so – I’d rather claim ‘refreshing to remember’, inspiring!
Now “New” usually stands for something that is different from
everything we know, that can give a potential hope – which is why
the "New Social Europe" seem to be the hope to
re-boost the discussion on what is the absolutely unique project
of Socialists and Social Democrats for Europe.
We know that the world has changed – we read that in every paper,
together with acknowledgements of all the threats that not only
hide in every corner, but even enter our houses; like
globalization that we voluntarily participate in each day when
switching the TV on. Everything is unstable, insecure,
questionable – and Superman or Spiderman seem up to date enough
to save us.
I am convinced that instead of a bunch of Armageddon tricks, we
need a vision that appeals to people, that...
Published Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 11:03
by
phoenix999
in New Social Europe (1478 views and 12 comments)
Hello,
A few months ago I had to change my cell phone and I purchased a Nokia phone. After that, I learned that Nokia was leaving Germany with the money of the Germans, leaving Germany for Romania because salaries and wages there were, in euros, FOUR times lower. "What a social Europe !" I said to myself then. If I had known that piece of news earlier, I would have joined the Germans in the Nokia boycott. Anyway I signed the German petition FOR the boycott. But things are changing and Europe is not just a huge market place, not yet : the Romanian automobile workers have decided to go on strike because their wages were too LOW whereas the auto company was making a huge profit with their low standard cars. There, we have two choices left, yes WE, us, Europeans, have one alternative:
- Either we choose to follow the media and think : Let's keep these poor fellas underpaid, because there will be a big competition with Morocco or India or whatever, and there, they pay even lower salaries (when and where, in the World, does it end ?);
- Or, we decide to make a political DECISION : We agree on a decent minimum wage across the whole European Union and we, Europeans, TAX importations from the poor countries where they pay their salaried slaves literally nothing and exploit women and small children. This is our last chance if we want a social Europe and there, as an exception to the rule, I'll quote George W Bush : ' Our living standards are...
read morePublished Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 14:20
by
Poul_Nyrup_Rasmussen
in New Social Europe (1014 views and 1 comments)
I agree with
our PES activist when he writes that we need a
strong PES to counterweight global capitalism.
Last summer I presented, together with my colleague Ieke van den
Burg from the Socialist Group in the European Parliament,
a report on private equity and hedge funds.
In the last four years the financial market has grown 30 to 50
percent a year. Today it is no longer the real economy that
controls the financial market – it is the other way around! The
real economy is governed by nation states and the EU – but who
decides on the financial market? The answer is, unfortunately,
only a very few people behind closed doors. We in Europe made our
democratic political choice in 2000 – with the so-called Lisbon
goals – to safeguard the future of our welfare states with more
and better jobs and social cohesion. This democratic political
choice – made in the European Council – must be respected by all
– including the big guys dominating the financial markets.
We need to make the market behave, the same way we have made our
markets behave in our nation states and at the European...
Published Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 16:50
by
Poul_Nyrup_Rasmussen
in Save our planet (944 views and 5 comments)
The suggestion to
focus more on environmental issues is certainly a good one. I
usually refer to it as a new strategy for ‘smart green growth’, but
‘New Sustainable Europe’ and ‘New Social Europe is also Green’ are
also catchy headlines. Thanks to our PES activist for his
ideas!Published Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 14:22
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (907 views and 0 comments)
The Swedish social
democrats discussed the future of EU when the Swedish Social
Democratic Party met in the Swedish Parliament on March 7th. The
keynote speakers were Mona Sahlin, party leader and chair of the
PES group Save our planet, Margot Wallström, Vice-president of
the EU Commission, Jan Eliasson, former Minister for foreign
affairs, and Wanja Lundby-Wedin, President of the Swedish LO and ETUC. Around 250 persons
attended the conference.Published Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 10:00
by
carl0s
in New Social Europe (1165 views and 3 comments)
In the Labour Party
we have always thought of full employment as a desirable goal. This
reflects the influence of those such as Keynes and Galbraith on our
thinking (despite Keynes being a Liberal). It also reflects the
localized depressions of the 1930s, 1980s and 1990s where classical
and neo-classical economics failed so many people. Simple fact:
markets are prone to failure. We should not let any prior
commitments prevent us from offering clear, humane alternatives
should this failure happen again. Around Europe, most people will
look to socialist parties to help them.Published Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 17:29
by
helmar
in New Social Europe (992 views and 2 comments)
I have translated a comment written for the Swedish Social Democratic newspaper Aktuellt i Politiken. It deals with how important it is that we Social Democrats don't give up the idea of a New Social Europe just because it takes time to achieve our goals. We cannot avoid addressing important policy areas, such as labour market and health care, on an EU level if we really want to make a change. I would be happy to discuss it with you.
It takes time for a new Europe to develop
A Catalan, an Estonian, a Welshman and me. No, this is not the start of a joke about national characters; it is a normal dinner in Brussels and no stranger than when I spend time with friends from all over Sweden when I am in Stockholm. It would be absurd if I told my friend from the South of Sweden that I think we should not have national labour market policies, since we have both higher salaries and lower unemployment in Stockholm. I would probably be punched if I said to my friend from Gothenburg that Stockholm hospitals cannot accept patients from other regions since they have different bacteria and viruses in their hospitals. And I would definitely get into an argument with my friend from the North of Sweden if he said that he does not care if we have congestion charges in Stockholm or not, since they have no problem with pollution or congestion in the North. It is obvious that our visions reach over the regional borders, but is it as self-evident that this...
read morePublished Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 11:56
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (1473 views and 3 comments)
“New Beginning” is what the
Labour Party of Malta (MLP) is offering voters
as it prepares for general elections expected in March or April
this year. New investment and new jobs top the Labour Party’s
programme, alongside better education and health services.Published Monday, December 3, 2007 at 09:45
by
Sortir de l'Impasse
in New Social Europe (1491 views and 2 comments)
There are currently 23 millions small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe, representing 99 percent of European companies and account for around two thirds of European jobs.
In the latest Eurobarometer report dedicated to SMEs published in May 2007 (16,339 SMEs interviewed in 27 country members), we are told that European SMEs believe that “competition in their markets has increased over the past two years. Six out of 10 managers stated that competition has recently intensified. The perception of increased competition is even more widespread among LSEs.”
According to this survey, 12 percent of the SMEs' turnover comes from their “new or significantly improved products.” France has one of the lowest rates with 7 percent only, whilst Slovenia equals 24 percent, Romania 21 percent, Germany 11 percent, and Italy 12 percent. Actually, one of the ways to resist this increasing competition is to invest in research and development in order to be able to launch new products.
The right wing parties often claim that labour costs are too high for the SMEs. This Eurobarometer pointed out that “labour costs” are regarded a constraint for...
read morePublished Friday, November 23, 2007 at 16:54
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (1418 views and 0 comments)
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