On 14 May 2020, EFEE attended the first Liaison Forum of the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which took place in online. The Liaison Forum brings together EU cross-industry and sectoral social partners to discuss the latest developments in the field of social dialogue.

The Liaison Forum opened with an in-depth update of the Commission’s activities since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides an overview of the initiatives that have been taken since March, the Liaison Forum also looked forward to the future to elaborate on the proposed initiatives that the Commission is currently still preparing. Subsequently, the Commission gave some insight on how they plan to tackle the organisational challenges of the upcoming social dialogue meetings and how these will take place in the foreseeable future. Following this exposition, an update was given by the Commission on the progress of EU-funded projects and how they should be implemented during these unprecedented times. As a final highlight, the Commission discussed the open calls for proposals and the alterations that have been made to the guidelines following the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more details, please contact isaline.ossieur@educationemployers.eu

©Featured Image: by DG EMPL, Flickr.