Analytics, Employment, EU – Baltic States, Forum, Markets and Companies, Technology

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"We live in a digital age. This means that the entire society of Europe is changing, from the economy to labor relations and the ways of life in general. Both the European Union as well as all member states individually must adapt to these changes and revise existing rules to avoid losing out in global competition. The judgement and opinions of employers and workers are crucial here, because their contribution to introducing new solutions is essential and valuable," Ratas was quoted by government spokespeople as saying.

The prime minister explained that Europe is currently seeing both a shortage of labor and a shortage of jobs. "Even now, most jobs require minimal digital skills, around 42% of people without digital skills are not working. At the same time, European employers are saying that they cannot find people with the necessary digital skills. We must ensure that all people have the skills and social protection they need to work," Ratas said.

The social summit was comprised of three subtopics: the social dimension of Europe, involvement of social partners in policies and reforms at the national level, and investing in learning in a digital economy and society.

Each topic discussion was led by one of the consecutive holders of the presidency of the Council of the European Union, that is ministers from Estonia, Bulgaria, and Austria. The discussion of the social dimension of Europe was led by Minister of Health and Labor Jevgeni Ossinovski.

The talks on the social dimension of Europe mostly focused on how social policy should react to changed circumstances and on the role of social partners. Discussions also touched on what can be done in social policy at the European Union level and what should be left to the competence of member states. As a possible vision for the future, the European Commission has proposed further increasing cooperation on social policy, including introducing uniform standards, or conversely, addressing the social dimension only in the context of free movement.

"We must keep up with social and economic change – people move between countries, modes of work are becoming more diverse and technological advances require new skills," Ossinovski said. "I believe that, in cooperation with member states and social partners, we can come up with solutions to address these challenges in the policies of member states as well as the EU, while also taking into account the different economies, socio-political circumstances and labor markets of the states."

Ratas on Thursday and Friday will attend the European Council where he will outline the results of the Tallinn Digital Summit. In addition, on the first day, the European Council will cover migration, EU security and defense cooperation and the external relations of the European Union, in particular relations with Turkey. Heads of state or government will be discussing whether the countries under the greatest pressure from migration require additional assistance and how to strengthen cooperation with international aid organizations as well as with countries of origin and transit in migration.

Before lunch on Friday, the second day of the European Council, the focus will be on the future of the EU and leaders of the 27 member states will receive an overview of the progress in the negotiations for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.