Competitiveness vs. democracy?

The EU June summit will focus on the European Commission’s competitiveness agenda which is core component of the plans for a "Genuine Monetary and Economic Union". This competitiveness agenda is geared towards increasing pressure on member states to intensify the competitiveness of their economies.

In the face of the failure of the austerity policies to recover the economy and the deepening debt crisis, the European Commission’s discourse on competitiveness has gained new ground.

The competitiveness agenda has many ramifications. Under the "Convergence and Competitiveness Instrument", the euro zone member states will be required to sign bilateral contracts with the Commission.  In addition, the German government has made it a priority to conclude a “Competitiveness Pact”, which would include intrusive mandatory rules on the economic policies of member states. In both cases, a specific aim is to fundamentally change the democratic decision making process of member states on economic policy, from being parliament based to being centralized in Brussels.

What are the key components of the proposed instruments and measures for competitiveness? What are the implications for EU member states of ceding these competencies to the European Union? What are the implications of the "Competitiveness Pact" for labour and social rights? And finally, will these effectively address the continuing and deepening crisis and protect the European welfare state?

Join us for a debate on the issue with the following speakers:

• Anne Bucher, Director for Structural Reforms and Competitiveness ECFIN
• Sonja Ablinger, Austrian MP for the Social Democrats
• Ronald Janssen, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) advisor

For more info and registration please contact: soltrumbovila@tni.org