On 21 October the European Commission presented a draft text recommending that the Member States establish national Competitiveness Boards. These national boards would be ‘independent and neutral’ and in charge of assessing competitiveness related developments and policies including offering strategic advice for the implementation of the reforms. The boards should consider competitiveness factors and trends including productivity and factors linked to investment, innovation and the attractiveness of the business environment, as well as wage developments. The European Commission text backpedalled on Eurozone wages as both the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and BusinessEurope vigorously defended the social partners’ autonomy as regards setting wages.
A backwards step as compared with summer 2015. “We need greater convergence in the Eurozone, but that doesn’t mean aligning wages at the lower end of wage scales; we should instead focus on productivity factors that facilitate convergence at the higher end,” stated Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner in charge of Employment and Social Affairs to Planet Labor. The Commission’s proposal presented within the context of a whole package of measures intended to strengthen Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)
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