Unions warn millions of EU firms face potential bankruptcy
Jerome Hughes
Press TV, Brussels
Union leaders warn that without support millions of firms risk going bankrupt in the EU resulting in a countless number of job losses. The economic emergency has been debated at the so-called Tripartite Social Summit in Brussels.
As they attempt to implement strict social distancing rules, millions of businesses across the 27-nation EU are struggling to break even, let alone make a profit. On Tuesday, the main EU institutions hosted a virtual meeting involving employers and unions to discuss the implications of this new financial crisis. All sides at the Tripartite Social Summit agreed there is an urgent need for EU leaders to endorse a proposed €750bn COVID-19 recovery plan
The European Trade Union Confederation told the summit that 60 millions workers in the EU have been laid off due to COVID-19 and millions of businesses face ruin unless they receive financial support. On the streets of the EU's de facto capital, Brussels, it is certainly not hard to find ordinary citizens who are struggling.
Even before COVID-19, health systems were under enormous pressure in the EU. Youth unemployment levels were already very high in countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy. In the European Parliament legislators have warned that far-right, anti-EU politics will flourish even further in the bloc unless social justice takes precedence over fresh austerity.
A number of lawmakers have said they thought Brexit and the election of Donald Trump would serve as a wake up call for those pushing the EU project forward in its current form. Instead they say 40 percent of the wealth in the EU is in the hands of just one percent of the bloc's population.
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