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Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Bilateral and regional forums

The European Commission promotes international labour rights in its bilateral dialogues with third countries and partners including dedicated labour rights dialogues and consultations with Thailand, United States, Japan, China, Canada and Taiwan. 

EU-Canada dialogue
 

In 2017, Canada and the EU started a bilateral dialogue on employment, social affairs and decent work, based on the Strategic Partnership Agreement. The aim of this bilateral dialogue is to deepen the cooperation and provide a forum for peer learning and knowledge sharing between the two administrations.

  • 3rd meeting of the EU-Canada bilateral dialogue on employment, social affairs and decent work (19-20 February 2020, Brussels)
  • 2nd meeting of the EU-Canada bilateral dialogue on employment, social affairs and decent work (14-16 November 2018, Ottawa)
  • 1st meeting of the EU-Canada bilateral dialogue on employment, social affairs and decent work (12-13 December 2017, Brussels)

Union for the Mediterranean

The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is an intergovernmental Euro-Mediterranean organisation bringing together all countries of the European Union and 15 countries of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. One of the UfM's priorities is to promote business development and employment.

Meetings are organised at regular intervals at Ministerial level to discuss the most pressing employment and social affairs challenges in the region as well as to decide on the way forward (via a Ministerial Declaration). A roadmap is then drawn up to implement the commitments made in the Ministerial Declaration. The policy priorities of the latest Ministerial Declaration on Employment and Labour focused on the employment and employability challenges of the most vulnerable, especially among youth and women.

Regular meetings of the Regional Platform on Employment and Labour and the Social Dialogue Forum are organised to follow up on the roadmap and to discuss further all aspects related to employment, employability and decent work.

The Regional Platform on Employment and Labour meet usually twice per year and bring together government representatives, social partners (employer organisations and trade unions) and labour experts, to advance on the implementation of the commitments taken in the Ministerial Declarations on Employment and Labour.

The Social Dialogue Forum meets every three years and brings together representatives from national employers' and workers' organisations from UfM partner countries, relevant Euro-Mediterranean regional social partners’ organisations, as well as representatives from the UfM Co-Presidency, the UfM Secretariat, the European Commission and experts.

The Social Dialogue Forum organised in the framework of the UfM intends to contribute actively and positively to the establishment and development of strong, independent and effective social dialogue, at the bi- and/or tripartite levels in the UfM member countries.

UfM Ministerials on Employment and Labour

  • 5th UfM Ministerial on Employment and Labour (17-18 May 2022, Marrakech, Morocco)
  • 4th Ministerial Conference on Employment and Labour (2-3 April 2019, Cascais, Portugal)
  • 3rd Ministerial Conference on Employment and Labour (26-27 September 2016, Dead Sea, Jordan)

UfM Regional Platforms on Employment and Labour

UfM Social Dialogue Fora

Other meetings

Projects