The EU should not interfere with the Member States’ freedom to set wages. Wage levels are an exclusively national responsibility. In Denmark, they are the result of collective bargaining agreements reached by the unions and employers’ associations – in fact, this is one of the core elements of the Danish model.

The Nordic employers’ confederations welcome the Social Summit in Porto and share the ambition of a Europe with high social standards and strong competitiveness.

With 750 billion Euros, The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility represents a unique opportunity to restart and strengthen the economy following the coronavirus crisis. However, the money must be invested with a long-term focus. The Scoreboard will help highlight best practice and ensure that the funds are invested most efficiently.

During the past years, the focus on social policies in the EU has increased. And with good reason. Both employers and employees continuously profit from being part of the Single Market. People and goods are able to freely move between Member States which generates jobs and prosperity. But there is another side to that story. Citizens can feel insecure about the increased influx of labour from other EU countries. A future with technological changes at lightning speed can be experienced as frightening rather than promising and can lead to a fear of losing one’s job.