Brussels, Feb. 5, 2021 (Lusa) - The European Commission has suggested setting up an exchange programme, such as Erasmus, for the social partners, which would allow representatives of employers and workers from the Member States to exchange views, and advocates an "even greater role" for these structures.

"There are several differences between the Member States in terms of the way they operate and the culture of social dialogue: there are countries where this is rooted and others where it is not",  the European commissioner for employment and social rights, Nicolas Schmit, said in Brussels in an interview with Lusa and other European media.

So "I think we need to put people together and have an exchange of good practice and how things are organised, and for that [...] we could organise something like an Erasmus for leaders or young leaders of the social partners", he suggested.

"I think this is a fundamental idea", he added.

The idea advocated by the EU executive was initially proposed by Nicolas Schmit's special adviser for social dialogue, former German federal minister for labour and social affairs Andrea Nahles, in a report released this week on collective bargaining in Europe.

The document, which will serve as a basis for the European Commission's creation of an action plan for the social rights' pillar, provides a "better exchange of experience and best practice" between workers' representatives and employers in the EU.

"In the light of differences in national capabilities and conditions, an exchange of experience and best practice would be a useful way to foster and boost social dialogue in Europe. Therefore, I propose the creation of a platform for the exchange of best practice in social dialogue with the support of the Commission", the former German minister said in the report.

Welcoming the proposed measures included in the document, the Commissioner said that in the case of this exchange programme "it can be implemented quite quickly".

According to Nicolas Schmit, this report "will be integrated into the action plan because social dialogue is also one of the best ways of implementing the social pillar, which is supported by all social partners, such as employers or workers' unions".

The European Commissioner also said that the social partners "have a crucial role and should even play a bigger role than they sometimes do".

So, it is urgent to "ensure that the social partners are heard in this important process of recovery and resilience", Schmit said about the national plans submitted to Brussels for access to the EU's 'Next Generation EU' grants.

Calling for a strengthening of the social dialogue, the commissioner also said that "if it does not work at the national level, it is difficult to have a functioning social dialogue at the European level, as they are quite interconnected".

The social agenda is one of the main priorities of the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the EU during this first half of 2021.

ANE/ADB // ADB.

Lusa