Project Europe

An information campaign on the future of the European Union from the point of view of employees

The Project Europe information campaign is a joint initiative by the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions- SAK, the Workers Educational Association - TSL, the Finnish Confederation of Salaried Employees - STTK and the Confederation of Unions for Academic Professionals in Finland - Akava. The campaign seeks to stimulate a debate within the labour movement on the future of the European Union, and to bring issues of fundamental importance to employees into sharper focus when European Union strategies are formulated.

One of the aims of the campaign is to make ordinary employees more familiar with the European Union, and to show how the ongoing debate on its future affects us all. Issues such as the present situation and the outlook for pan-European dialogue and collective bargaining between the continent s labour market organisations will be raised as the campaign progresses.

The debate will also focus on the impact of EU enlargement on the labour market and on employee welfare in general. The eastwards enlargement programme is one of the most profound changes in the entire history of European integration, affecting ordinary employees and arousing significant questions and even fears.

For enlargement to be possible, the European Union must be reformed. A special preparatory organ, the Convention, has now been created to consider this reform, and involves representatives of the European Union institutions and of the governments and Parliaments of both the Member States and the applicant States. The Convention is due to complete its work next year, after which the Union will set about putting the finishing touches on a new Treaty of Establishment. The European Trade Union Confederation - ETUC and its affiliated organisations, including SAK, STTK and Akava, will be involved in this challenging undertaking.

It is vital for Finnish employees that an enlarged and more closely integrated European Union is brought about in a manner that respects the principles of social justice and orderly industrial relations. The trade union movement seeks to reinforce democratic policymaking in the European Union. This policymaking must be open and transparent, as this is the only way to improve public confidence in the work of the Union.

The information campaign will include 15 regional events covering the length and breadth of Finland. A summary session will be arranged at the end of this national debating round in March 2003. Keynote speakers at these events will include leaders and experts from trade union confederations and their affiliated unions, together with specialists working with the issues now facing the European Union. A book published to support the debate includes a series of articles in which trade union experts consider some of the main questions involved in the future of the European Union.