Remarks by President Charles Michel at the closing session of the Porto Social Summit

Prime Minister, dear Antonio, President of the European Parliament, dear David, President of the Commission, dear Ursula, heads of state or government, dear friends, social partners and civil society representatives,

This is a very special feeling, Antonio, because it takes me back to more than a year ago, when we first met to prepare for the Portuguese Presidency. That was before COVID-19. We decided to put Europe’s social commitment on the agenda of the Portuguese Presidency, under your leadership, four years after the first step was taken – with Stefan Löfven – in Gothenburg, where we looked through a social prism to see the path of European construction in a new light.

And here we are today, thanks to the meticulous preparatory work carried out over the last few months. This moment ties in with a collective instinct, a sense that we all shared that the major climate and digital transformations on which the European Union has embarked, not just within Europe, but also internationally, must inspire us to consolidate our capacity for European fraternity.

It is a capacity to deliver on the famous European promise that has been evoked several times – Ursula was among those who mentioned it today – a promise made over the ashes left by the Second World War: that prosperity and peace are the prerequisites for the dignity of every human being, for personal freedom and for the chance to shape our own destiny. It is a capacity to ensure that society throughout Europe offers real and equal opportunities. At the same time, it is a capacity to innovate, develop, and to look forward to the future with ambition.

Of course, today’s Social Europe is a complex patchwork that reflects different situations, different histories, and systems that do not always match.

Despite that, to those who say they cannot see Social Europe, I would reply that you cannot see the air that you breathe: invisible, maybe; but essential. It is of existential importance because it allows us to develop, to spread our wings. European values, as many before me have said, are the values that unite us: the rule of law, freedom, equality between women and men, the fight against discrimination, the protection of minorities, and more.

Taken as a whole, these commitments that mobilise us are at the heart of this drive for fraternity. The ambition to move forward in a balanced way. We need economic development; we need innovation; we need prosperity. And we need social cohesion. We need to protect those who are vulnerable at a given moment, who need a helping hand.

My dear friends, there is one point I would like to stress, which I am delighted about and which many of you have already touched on. For decades, we have built our understanding of development and progress primarily around one indicator: gross domestic product. This indicator is important because it tracks economic progress.

But as has been pointed out several times, GDP does not give an adequate reflection of the level of development of a society, or of the countries that make up our European Union. That’s why I very much welcome the efforts made by the social partners, who have shown that, looking beyond differences and beyond the fact that we don’t always initially share the same perspectives, in order to come together and make progress together, we need to see, year by year, whether our collectively-made decisions have a impact. Not just in terms of GDP, but using other criteria too: access to education, quality of the environment, curbing discrimination, capacity for innovation, development and future prosperity.

We are fully aware, at this summit four years after Gothenburg, that this is a compass by which we want to guide this European project. A compass for a better quality of life in Europe. To achieve that goal, we need to consider what concrete action to take, starting with the framework of precise proposals tabled by the European Commission. And also starting with today’s commitment, which has come about thanks to the involvement of the social partners.

I want to highlight two points that I believe are important. First, financial resources are needed. They have been provided for by the fundamental decisions taken a year ago on the EU budget and the Next Generation EU recovery fund. Own resources change the equation and will spark democratic debate and political debate in the European Parliament, with Member States, with the social partners and with civil society. We are going to invest together and reform together, true to our digital ambitions and our climate ambitions.

However, financial resources are not enough. What we need is collective intelligence – and a lot of it. This is where social dialogue works its magic: it brings together people who may not immediately think along the same lines, to see how, by respecting and listening to each other, we can agree on the essence. Agree on the direction in which we want to take the European project. With that in mind, I am delighted with this very strong response, which was demonstrated again just a few moments ago in the form of the messages delivered here with sincerity and willingness by the social partners.

Those were the few points I wanted to share with you. Let me conclude, dear Antonio, with a reference to the singer and poet José Afonso, and this fine lyric from his song Grândola, Vila Morena: ‘At each corner is a friend, on each face equality.’ That is my hope for the European project. Thank you.