Today, on 12 September 2018, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission delivered his speech on the State of the Union. RREUSE welcomes the Commission’s efforts to contribute to job creation and deliver not only promises but also results. However, more importance should be placed on offering employment opportunities for the disadvantaged, such as long-term unemployed, disabled, low-skilled or marginalised persons. Social enterprises offer training and jobs that significantly contribute to integrating people from many different backgrounds.
RREUSE values President Juncker’s stance on plastic pollution. However, more can be done to protect the environment. Overconsumption and our throwaway culture strain the natural resources. At the same time, the lack of incentives to support labour intensive re-use and repair activities constitute a significant missed employment opportunity. Many Member States still have a lot of steps ahead of them to build a circular economy and in the light of the worldwide demonstrations on climate change that took place last weekend, it is clear that EU citizens demand more commitment from the EU and their national governments to address environment protection and job creation.
We understand that the issues that Europe will be facing in the next year will revolve around Brexit, EU elections and security issues. Yet, it is crucial not to forget about long-term challenges and provide long-term solutions. Hence, building a circular economy and solving long-term unemployment by creating green jobs through social enterprises should be high on the EU’s agenda.
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For more information please contact Daša Koribaničová – dasa.koribanicova@rreuse.org
Further reading:
- RREUSE comments on the European Semester
- RREUSE Briefing on re-use and its potential to create jobs in Europe
Picture credit © European Union , 2018 / Source: EC – Audiovisual Service / Photo: Mauro Bottaro