Commissioner Mandelson at ILO/European Commission Conference on globalisation and employment

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson will today address a conference on 'Employment and social policy in an open trading regime', jointly hosted by the International Labour Organisation and the European Commission in Turin, Italy. The Commission and the ILO have established a partnership to promote action by which progressive liberalisation and free and fair trade can reinforce employment, social and environmental protection.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said: "Trade policy is not a substitute for social policy, but handled properly, multilateral trade liberalisation can foster long-term economic growth, combat poverty and raise living and working standards. The purpose of progressive trade liberalisation is to create greater well being and better lives for people around the world. The European Commission and the ILO have formed a partnership to gauge the impact of trade liberalisation on social and labour standards. Through our preferential trade agreements and impact assessments for trade negotiations the Commission works to ensure trade and social policy go hand in hand."

In May 2004 the European Commission agreed to draw up proposals for strengthening the social dimension of its trading policy. The Commission and the ILO established a strategic partnership for this purpose. They are currently jointly financing a wide-ranging study on the impact of trade liberalisation on employment and social issues.

In his keynote remarks to the conference Peter Mandelson will stress that the experience of the European Union shows that there can be a mutually reinforcing relationship between economic growth, environmental policies and social and labour rights. Commissioner Mandelson will argue that effective social adjustment policies and active safety nets are not only necessary in the face of economic change, but a crucial element in European competitiveness, and thus a contributor to its trading strength. He will argue that high social and environmental standards underpin sustainable productivity growth and the production of high-quality goods.

Regarding EU Trade Policy, Commissioner Mandelson will argue that the European Commission uses its trade policy to incentivise good social and employment practice in a number of ways. For example, through a revised Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) the EU will create additional preferential access (GSP Plus) for developing countries that have ratified and implemented major UN and ILO conventions on labour and human rights. The Cotonou Agreement that governs the EU's relationship with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries contains specific provisions on labour rights and these will be reproduced in the Economic Partnership Agreements that are currently being negotiated with ACP regions.

Commissioner Mandelson's speech - 'Trade Policy for a 'Social Europe' is available on Rapid: SPEECH/05/302

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