COUNCIL OF THE EU,update

 

Press material Thursday, 19 March 2026

● European Council   18/03/2026 16:44 | Press release | Main messages from the Tripartite Social Summit of 18 March 2026   EU leaders and social partners met in Brussels for the Tripartite Social Summit, a twice-yearly forum for dialogue that brings together the leaders of the EU institutions and the European social partners. Today’s discussion focused on ‘Investment for a vibrant European economy and quality jobs’. In particular, the following topics were addressed: closing the investment gaps reducing strategic dependencies “A more integrated and harmonised EU single market is vital to building a competitive social market economy. By investing in areas such as education, skills and affordable housing, we can successfully tackle the EU’s strategic dependencies, create high-quality jobs, ensure prosperity and protect our citizens in an increasingly challenging geopolitical environment.” — António Costa, President of the European Council “Our social market economy is what protects Europe’s social fabric in these volatile times. And we must strengthen it even further. As the war in the Gulf drives energy prices up again, our immediate focus has to be on protecting our most vulnerable consumers and businesses. With short-term relief for those who urgently need it. And by strengthening our independence thanks to the phase-out of unstable fossil fuel imports. As we design solutions, it is vital to engage closely with the social partners and I’m thankful for our cooperation.” — Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission “In Cyprus there is a long tradition of social dialogue. By working side by side with social partners, our government ensures that employment policies are not simply imposed, but constructed together. The effective tripartite cooperation at national level – hand in hand with bold reforms – has contributed to the highest employment rate in Cyprus’ history, reaching 81.3% in 2025, while unemployment has dropped to 4.4% (2025) – the lowest level since 2008. At the same time, Cyprus has sustained one of the fastest economic growth rates in the EU estimated at 4% for 2026, while the average wage increased by 13.2% – the largest rise since 1993 – and pensions in 2025 rose by nearly 6%. From national to EU level, a strong social dialogue is a major pillar of our Union’s competitiveness and a priority for the Cyprus Presidency.” — Nikos Christodoulides, President of the Republic of Cyprus, on behalf of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU “The war in the Middle East, which comes on top of the Russian aggression war against Ukraine, makes it even more important to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. To create a vibrant economy with quality jobs in Europe, enterprises require a more integrated Single Market and less volatile and lower energy costs. They also call for less regulatory burden, putting the Think Small First principle into practice, as well as quality services of general interest and a skilled workforce. Employers count on the European Council to agree an ambitious roadmap with concrete measures and timelines. The need to act without delay is greater than ever.” — Fredrik Persson, President of BusinessEurope, representing employers (BusinessEurope, SGI Europe, SMEunited) “Europe must increase investment to match its ambitions to deliver for workers. Meeting today’s economic, social and geopolitical challenges requires a major leap in public investment at European level, including through common instruments such as eurobonds. This must go hand in hand with a robust European industrial policy and a Made in Europe approach that creates quality jobs based on fair wages, strong workers’ rights, collective bargaining and high social and environmental standards. Europe’s workers are already paying the price of successive shocks, with cost-of-living crises and job losses mounting across the economy. The EU must urgently bring in crisis management tools to protect jobs and production in strategic sectors, building on the success of SURE, and stronger internal demand through higher wages and bargaining coverage. A European Quality Jobs Act is essential to tackle precarious work and abuse and ensure fair working conditions instead.” — Esther Lynch, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) The European cross-industry social partners also conveyed the following joint message during the meeting of the Tripartite Social Summit and in view of the upcoming European Council discussions on 19-20 March: ‘The European social partners expressed deep concerns about the deterioration of the economic situation and its negative impact on employment in Europe. The urgency to act in order to deliver concrete measures that will attract the investment that is necessary for a vibrant economy with quality jobs is greater than ever. Enhancing investment and employment requires improving overall investment conditions as well as a Multiannual Financial Framework that is commensurate with the EU policy objectives including employment, skills and social cohesion. In this context, the EU social partners underlined the crucial role of the European Social Fund and the European Competitiveness Fund.’ The views cited in this text are those of the individual / organisation concerned and do not collectively constitute the point of view of the Council or the European Council.   Visit the website ● European Council   18/03/2026 17:32 | Statements and remarks | Déclaration du président António Costa lors de la conférence de presse à l’issue du Sommet social tripartite du 18 mars 2026   Nous venons de conclure notre réunion semestrielle avec les partenaires sociaux. Cet échange est toujours une bonne occasion de discuter de comment l’Europe agit pour ses citoyens, pour ses travailleurs et pour ses entreprises. D’écouter et d’apprendre comment nous pouvons mieux faire. Le dialogue d’aujourd’hui avait pour thème « l’investissement pour une économie européenne dynamique et des emplois de qualité ». Une économie sociale de marché hautement compétitive, qui concilie croissance économique et équité sociale, est l’un des objectifs fondateurs de notre Union. Dans le contexte actuel d’instabilité géopolitique et géoéconomique, nous devons tout faire pour la protéger. Demain, lors du Conseil européen, les dirigeants de l’UE décideront de mesures et d’échéances concrètes pour renforcer la compétitivité européenne. Nous devons renforcer notre marché unique en réduisant les barrières nationales et européennes, en facilitant l’investissement et en réduisant les dépendances. Le conflit au Moyen-Orient ajoute de l’instabilité à un contexte déjà complexe. La hausse des prix de l’énergie et l’incertitude concernant la sécurité de l’approvisionnement ont un impact sur l’économie européenne et mondiale. Mais cette crise le montre plus clairement que jamais : la voie de l’Europe vers une plus grande autonomie et une plus grande résilience n’est plus optionnelle. Elle est essentielle pour garantir notre sécurité et notre prospérité. Grâce à nos efforts collectifs, notamment le déploiement accéléré des énergies renouvelables et la diversification de nos importations énergétiques, nous sommes bien mieux armés pour résister au choc actuel des prix de l’énergie qu’en 2022. La Commission a annoncé des mesures pour atténuer les conséquences à court terme pour nos entreprises et nos citoyens. En même temps, nous devons maintenir le cap et même accélérer nos efforts à long terme pour décarboner l’économie européenne. La transition vers une énergie propre et locale est la meilleure stratégie pour réduire notre dépendance aux énergies fossiles et faire baisser les prix de l’énergie. Nous devons rendre notre économie européenne et notre modèle social plus résilients face aux chocs et à la volatilité accrue. Nous devons renforcer l’autonomie stratégique de l’Europe dans les domaines de l’énergie, du numérique, de la défense et de la sécurité, et cela demande une Europe plus déterminée et plus unie. Tout comme nous avons fait de 2025 l’année de la défense européenne – en franchissant des étapes historiques vers des investissements communs et des instruments partagés –, nous faisons de 2026 l’année de la compétitivité européenne. Demain, au Conseil européen, nous utiliserons l’élan et le sentiment d’urgence que nous avons partagés lors de notre retraite à Alden Biesen le mois dernier. Nous prendrons des mesures concrètes pour créer un marché unique pour une Europe unie. Pour protéger nos citoyens, nos travailleurs et nos entreprises contre les menaces extérieures tout en éliminant les barrières internes qui nous freinent. Demain, nous adopterons un ensemble complet et ambitieux d’actions, avec des calendriers clairs pour leur mise en œuvre en 2026 et 2027, afin de : Renforcer notre marché unique Simplifier et réduire les charges administratives Faire baisser les prix de l’énergie Stimuler l’industrie et l’innovation européennes tout en réduisant les dépendances Mobiliser les investissements Mais la compétitivité n’est pas une fin en soi. Elle doit nous permettre de construire une Union plus cohésive, avec l’humain en son cœur. Une plus grande compétitivité européenne doit s’accompagner d’une amélioration équitable des conditions pour les travailleurs. Nous ne reculerons pas sur les droits des citoyens, des entreprises et de l’environnement. Nous devons maintenir les emplois en Europe et augmenter l’offre d’emplois de qualité de manière durable. Le rôle des partenaires sociaux dans cet effort est essentiel. Nous avons besoin de votre contribution pour continuer à trouver des solutions durables, guidées par un sens collectif de la responsabilité, afin d’améliorer la résilience de nos entreprises et de soutenir l’emploi dans l’Union européenne. Je suis convaincu que la mise en œuvre de notre agenda « Une Europe, un marché » que nous annoncerons demain renforcera les fondements de notre modèle social. En plaçant les travailleurs au premier plan. En travaillant à une prospérité partagée. Et en allégeant le coût de la vie quotidienne pour tous. Je vous remercie de votre attention.   Visit the website ● European Council   18/03/2026 19:21 | Meetings | Main results - Tripartite Social Summit, 18 March 2026   EU leaders and social partners met in Brussels to discuss ‘Investment for a vibrant European economy and quality jobs’.   View meeting page ● European Council   19/03/2026 10:29 | Statements and remarks | Remarks by President António Costa at the doorstep ahead of the European Council meeting of 19-20 March 2026   2026 is the European year of competitiveness. And today, the leaders will focus on competitiveness. To boost economic competitiveness is essential to increase our economic growth, to create quality jobs, but it is also essential to increase our strategic autonomy. And today, we will deliver on our 'One Europe, one market' agenda, as we promised some weeks ago in our retreat in Alden Biesen. The 28th regime, the so-called 'EU Inc.', is a very good first step.  We need to continue, we need to integrate energy and telecommunications sector in the single market, we need to pursue our simplification agenda, and we need to invest more in innovation in the new sectors: AI, quantum computing. We need to invest more in skills, reskills, upskills, life-long learning. Then we need to have a next long term budget fit for this purpose. And of course we need also to mobilise the European savings to support investment. And for this we need to conclude the Savings and Investment Union, it is very, very important. That is why today we will approve very concrete measures, with a concrete timeline, to deliver our agenda by the end of 2027 at the latest, but with several measures that we need to adopt until the end of this year.  Of course, nobody can ignore that we are facing challenging times on energy, and we need to address them. The current conflict in Iran shows, once again, that the best way to have a predictable and reliable horizon on our energy is to increase the homegrown production of energy. This is the only way to become autonomous, independent, and secure our energy system. For this, we need to pursue our energy transition, and this is our main task. Of course, we need to do this taking into account the specificity of different member states, the specificity of some economic sectors, that are intensive in the use of energy. But we need to do this together and never forget that we need to not only protect our companies today, but we need also to ensure that the next generation continues to have a planet to live in. This is part of the climate and the environmental goal.  It is clear that energy means security. We need to build our own capacity to produce our own energy, because it's the only way to be secure.  Finally, we will have the opportunity to meet with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres. The multilateral system is a basic instrument to protect the international rules-based order. And it is clear that there is no alternative to the international rules-based order, because the alternative is the war in Ukraine, the alternative is unfair competition on trade, it is the threat on the sovereignty of Greenland, it is the threat to sovereignty in other parts of the world. Then, if you want to preserve stability, if you want to preserve peace, we need to uphold the international law and uphold the multilateral system. And this meeting with António Guterres is very important, not only to address the dramatic situation now in the Middle East, namely what is happening in Lebanon, that is dramatic. And also to never forget that it is urgent to mobilise the international community to support the Gaza population because you need to clean the rubbels, we need to ensure water supply, energy supply, emergency shield for people living in Gaza. Because we are moving from a conflict to another conflict, but unfortunately, the war in Ukraine did not stop, the situation in Gaza remains dramatic, and we need to address all of this.  Thank you.   Visit the website