Editorial EELC 2019 issue 4: The European Commission and Social Developments

The European Parliament recently elected Ursula von der Leyen as President of the new European Commission. This Commission takes on office on 1 December 2019 for five years. Nicolas Schmit will be the Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights. Von der Leyen had already formulated Schmit’s mission, his way forward, in the Mission letter of 10 September 2019. The Mission is summarised in the heading ‘Strengthening Europe’s social dimension’ and refers to: developing an action plan based on the European Pillar of Social Rights, arranging a fair minimum wage for every worker in the EU, improving the labour conditions of platform workers, contributing to the design of a European Unemployment Benefit Reinsurance Scheme, supporting the new European labour authority, promoting social dialogue, making the most of the future European Social Fund+, fighting poverty amongst the youth and continuing to work on the skills agenda.
Bearing in mind the 2017 White Paper on the future of Europe, which sets out different scenarios for the future of the EU including the scenario ‘nothing but the Single Market’, it is safe to assume that the future of Europe is to be found in the scenario ‘doing much more’. Topics that were traditionally linked to individual Member States, and in cases are excluded from the field of Social Policy in the Treaties (pay, for instance, is explicitly excluded in article 153.5 TFEU), are now missions to be accomplished. I think it is safe to say there will be interesting developments in the years to come in the field of EU Social Policy.
But for interesting EU developments we do not have wait for the new European Commission. We, of course, have the EELC to fall back on. In this magazine, we can learn about interesting developments in the field of age discrimination, collective action and working times.
So, enjoy your Christmas with this fine selection of interesting cases!

Zef Even, editor