Martine Deprez and Georges Mischo took part in the high-level conference on the European Pillar of Social Rights in La Hulpe

Martine Deprez took part in the panel discussion on "Guaranteeing access to social protection for all in a changing labour market". In her speech, the Minister detailed the measures put in place in Luxembourg to give very vulnerable people access to the healthcare and medical treatment required by their state of health or illness.

More specifically, the minister presented the 'Universal Healthcare Coverage' pilot project, for which the 2023-2028 coalition agreement provides for the creation of a dedicated legal basis in order to make it a permanent measure for the most vulnerable people.

In the session entitled "Achieving the Porto targets by 2030: the role of analysis, monitoring and statistical capacity", Martine Deprez took the floor to stress the importance of using high-quality statistical data, both at national and European level, to better align measures and actions with people's needs.

The Minister also welcomed the fact that "the implementation of the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, and in particular the quantified global objectives of the EU, is one of the main common priorities of the European Union in the context of the revised economic governance, which offers excellent potential for further work, in particular the establishment of an operational framework for the evaluation of social investments".

The Minister of Labour, Georges Mischo, took part in the session on fair working conditions, which focused specifically on the consequences of artificial intelligence and algorithmic management on the world of work.

In his speech, he emphasised the positive effects on employment and productivity that can be expected from artificial intelligence, while stressing the importance of avoiding negative effects on working conditions and workers' rights. Artificial intelligence must be developed for the benefit of employees and not to their detriment.

The Minister of Labour also took part in the panel devoted to labour market policies for a fair transition, with a specific focus on the right to lifelong learning, the right to requalification and skills upgrading. The theme chosen for this panel reflects the first principle of the European pillar of social rights.

In his speech, the Minister presented the bill, which aims not only to invest in retraining and improving the skills of jobseekers, but also to anticipate future situations of redundancy due to the mismatches that are likely to arise between existing skills and those required as a result of the rapid changes in the new world of work. Georges Mischo also emphasised that the "forward-looking employment and skills management programme" provided for in the project is aimed at companies that are undergoing a transformation in their activities, their business lines or their skills requirements and that wish to invest, in a preventive manner, in the skills of their existing staff.

In the margins of the conference, the Minister of Labour had a brief discussion with the Executive Director of the European Labour Authority (ELA), Mr Cosmin Boiangiu, on the future of the ELA, and with the Director of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Office for the European Union and the Benelux countries, Ms Lieve Verboven, on the state of ratification of certain ILO Conventions.

On the sidelines of the conference, Martine Deprez held bilateral talks with Hubertus Heil, Germany's Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, and Attila Fülöp, Hungary's Deputy Minister for Social Affairs.

During these exchanges, the Minister of Health and Social Security reviewed current European issues with her counterparts and shared her views on future social challenges with a view to the European Union's next legislative cycle.

This high-level conference culminated in the signing of the La Hulpe Interinstitutional Declaration on the Future of Social Europe, the purpose of which is to prepare the future social agenda for the period 2024-2029, thus continuing the implementation of the European Social Rights Framework.

More information is available on the page dedicated to the high-level conference: https://belgian-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/en/events/european-pillar-of-social-rights-the-la-hulpe-declaration-on-the-future-of-social-europe/

Press release by the Ministry of Health and Social Security and the Ministry of Labour