In view of the increasing number of austerity packages being put in place across Europe, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has urged European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to convene an emergency Tripartite Social Summit and to invite the director general of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The letter, sent on 14 May, was also addressed to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, the EU’s Employment Commissioner Laszlo Andor and the EU’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn and the other social partners (BusinessEurope, CEEP and UEAPME).

Comparing the current situation to the one that led to the Great Depression, ETUC’s Secretary General John Monks said: “The EU conditions are harsh and deflationary and will cause rises in unemployment and social tension. We need a more sensitive, less rigid approach from our European leaders to reconcile growth and debt repayment if Europe is to avoid a double dip recession ”.

He also criticised the poor consultation of the social partners by the European authorities in their coordinated approach to exit the crisis, particularly with regard to certain countries and the conditions of aid incumbent upon them. “These packages reflect elements of the tough conditions decided on recently by the European authorities, conditions which are even harder than those being applied by the IMF in other cases of this kind ”, wrote ETUC in its letter.