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07 May 2021EU leaders meet again in Porto, Portugal, on the occasion of the 'social summit' and the informal EU Council, convened by the Portuguese Prime Minister, Costa. The central theme is social inclusion but we will also talk about the fight against the pandemic and vaccines and the leaders arrive divided at the first meeting in which the former number one of the ECB, Mario Draghi, presents himself in the role of Italian Prime Minister.     



The announcement by the US president, Joe Biden, to suspend patents on anti-Covid vaccines to increase their production in favor of poor countries, was hailed as an epochal turning point by the WHO, France and even the Italian premier supported, like Russia while the EU said it was ready to discuss it, but from Germany came the braking of the Chancellor, Angela Merkel, for which it would create "serious complications". The opposition from the pharmaceutical companies that produce the vaccines, whose stocks were penalized on the stock market by the debate, and which found a strong ally in Merkel, was obvious. "The limiting factor regarding the production of the serums are the production capacities and the high quality standards required, not the patents",a spokeswoman for the German government said. "The protection of intellectual property is a source of innovation and must remain so in the future," he added. The global production capacity, according to the so-called Big Pharma, is already at the limit and the same companies have signed hundreds of voluntary licensing agreements to increase it.



Work and investments


However, the issue of social inclusion remains at the center of the summit. In fact, leaders must discuss the post-pandemic scenarios. And on the economic and social crisis that the countries are experiencing. Over 14.5 million jobs were created in the Union between 2014 and 2019, but the Covid-19 crisis and containment measures have halted this trend, penalizing especially the most vulnerable, women and Young people. In response to the crisis, national and EU measures have mitigated the negative impact, but to reach the 78% target between now and 2030, more support is needed to create jobs by exploiting the opportunities arising from the economy from the free market, from jobs in the green sector, from digitization and from new technologies.Adequate investment levels will be essential to achieve these objectives. EU support in this regard, with the RRF and its budget of 672.5 billion in grants and loans, will be able to provide a boost of 2% of additional GDP and create 2 million jobs by exploiting also the 88 billion of the European Social Fund Plus (Cohesion Policy) entirely dedicated to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, and the Just Transition Fund with 17.5 billion for socially sustainable transitions towards climate neutrality. At the end of the Social Summit, a declaration by European social actors on EU social policies is expected, which will contribute to the declaration that the leaders will adopt the next day at the informal European Council.At the end of the program, the EU-India Summit will take place which will focus on the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and trade.



Economic


recovery

and sustainable development

In Porto, Europe is still trying to restart, to overcome even the second wave of the coronavirus and the summit serves to take stock of the recovery that must be fair and sustainable, also thanks to the 'Recovery Fund'. The spotlights will be focused on the Italian premier who will speak in a session dedicated to sustainable development and work. The informal European Council follows the one held in Gothenburg in 2017, foresees two plenary sessions and three parallel thematic panels attended by both EU leaders and representatives of the trade unions and business, representatives of the territories. Draghi spoke on the issue of development and work, including external relations and preparation for the EU-India Summit.



The first working session in which the premier participates is dedicated to the new EU objective on work: to reach at least 78% of the employment rate of the population aged between 20 and 64 by 2030. The objective is part of the scope of the Action Plan of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The discussion will focus on the policies needed to create a sustainable and inclusive labor market recovery that will allow the EU to achieve this goal by 2030, on the initiatives to be promoted for the creation of quality jobs both at the EU and at the EU level. national level, and on the measures that the 27 Member States are planning to achieve the main objective of employment.