European Social Dialogue

What is European Social Dialogue?

Social dialogue is a key element of the European social model. It enables the social partners to have an input into the design of European social and employment policy, and is an integral part of the institutional community acquis. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) represents workers in European Social Dialogue at the European level in the Social Dialogue Committee which meets three times a year. The European social partners engage in social dialogue at cross-sectoral and sectoral levels through discussions, consultations, negotiations and joint actions.

The involvement of the social partners at the European level is organised around three different types of activities:

  • tripartite consultation, which comprises the exchanges between the social partners and the European public authorities;
  • consultation of the social partners, which covers the activities of the consultative committees and official consultations in the spirit of Article 153 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU); and
  • the European social dialogue as such, which is the name given to the bipartite work of the social partners, whether or not it stems from the official consultations of the Commission based on Articles 154 and 155 of the Treaty.

Why focus on European Social Dialogue?

On the worker-participation.eu website, the focus on European Social Dialogue recognises that social dialogue is a key driver of economic and social resilience, competitiveness, fairness and sustainable growth. Knowledge of how social dialogue structures and processes function and are framed by regulation helps workers, unions, company managers and others to participate in forums and resolve economic and social issues; encourage good governance; advance sustainable industrial activity; and support the social partners’ position in European Social Dialogue.

The worker-participation.eu website includes a brief history of European Social Dialogue in terms of its roles and outcomes.

Interprofessional European Social Dialogue

The involvement of the social partners at the European level is organised around three different types of activities:

  • The tripartite consultation comprises the exchanges between the social partners and the European public authorities.
  • The consultation of the social partners covers the activities of the consultative committees and official consultations in the spirit of Article 153 of the (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)) - for a complete overview of all consultations so far launched by the European Commission, click here.
  • The European social dialogue as such is the name given to the bipartite work of the social partners, whether or not it stems from the official consultations of the Commission based on Articles 154 and 155 TFEU.

Key outcomes of the outcomes of the Interprofessional European Social Dialogue include the framework agreements, the frameworks of actions and the multi-annual work programmes.

Sectoral European Social Dialogue

European sectoral social dialogue is a social dialogue that takes place at the branch level between the European trade union and employer organisations of a specific sector of the economy. The main advantage of EU sectoral social dialogue is its ability to address specific aspects of sectoral concern and to provide a proper forum for discussion with the actors on the ground of many issues linked to employment, working conditions, vocational training, industrial change, the knowledge society, demographic patterns, enlargement and globalisation.

European-level sectoral social dialogue is now a well-established process, since its 30-year-old formal and informal structures were reformed on the basis of the European Commission Decision in May 1998. This Decision constitutes the foundation for sectoral social dialogue committees promoting dialogue between the social partners in sectors at European level.

There are currently some 40 sectoral social dialogue committees, which have produced a wide range of joint texts and agreements. A characteristic of the sectoral social dialogue at European level is the diversity of tools used to formalise commitments made by the social partners. The list includes opinions and common positions, declarations, guidelines and codes of conduct, charters, and also framework agreements.

In 2010, the EU Commission published a staff working document where it took stock of the main achievements of the European sectoral social dialogue and reviewed the functioning of the European sectoral social dialogue committees.

The worker-participation.eu website also houses short sectoral commentaries.

Regulation

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) contains two key articles concerning European Social Dialogue:

European Company Statute (ECS) regulation
European Cooperative Societies (SCE) regulation

Other regulation and Positions

Other regulatory and position materials include: (under construction)

Research areas

European Companies (SEs)

This worker-participation.eu website houses a list of European Companies (SEs).

European Company (SE) facts and figures

See also:

Jurisprudence

Commentary and analyses

The ETUI has a long-standing research focus on monitoring and analysing legislation from a European perspective with regard to:

The worker-participation.eu website also houses various other resources on European Social Dialogue.

ETUI and related events on European Social Dialogue

European Sectoral Social Dialogue (ESSD) Database

The ETUI’s unique European Sectoral Social Dialogue database contains detailed information (under construction). Upon registration, you will have free access to:

  • Information about the European Sectoral Social Dialogue Database (under construction)
  • European Sectoral Social Dialogue Database search engines with save facilities (under construction)

Frequently asked questions

  • About European Social Dialogue at FAQ. (under construction)
  • About European Companies (SEs) at FAQ on SEs.

Other resources