Díaz and her Portuguese counterpart sign a cooperation protocol on cross-border workers

Following the signing of a Declaration of Intent in Lisbon in December 2020 between the two ministers, which strengthened bilateral cooperation on employment, health and safety at work, labour inspection and the social economy, a joint Activity Plan was signed in March this year.

In Trujillo, Mendes and Díaz have taken a new step to deepen this collaboration in order to facilitate the economic and social development of these territories along the border with the signing of a cooperation protocol for the forthcoming approval by both countries of a Statute for Cross-Border Workers, which will serve to better guarantee the labour rights and social protection of these workers and to increase their opportunities to access quality jobs.

"With this protocol we are correcting a long-overdue debt, because it will serve to create quality jobs for cross-border workers, thereby facilitating and improving access to their labour and social rights," said Díaz.

The document specifies the standards defining the situation of these workers with the common objective of achieving decent employment and greater territorial and social cohesion. The protocol provides for measures that will facilitate mobility, security and the better and more effective implementation of the rights derived from the national legislation of each of the states.

Social Imbalances Alert Mechanism

Díaz and Mendes also agreed to join forces to study the implementation of the Social Alert Mechanism promoted by Spain and Belgium in the European Union in 2022.

"The enormous difference between the management of the 2008 crisis and the pandemic crisis has shown us that it is not a question of choosing between social justice and economic efficiency, but of reconciling both concepts and understanding that economic management is only effective when it is socially just," said Díaz during the 32nd Spanish-Portuguese summit held in Trujillo, Extremadura.

The aim of this mechanism, an initiative that Vice-President Díaz and her Belgian counterpart recently presented to EU ministers, is to incorporate the procedure for coordinating the economic and social policies of the EU27 into the ordinary functioning of the European Semester - a system of social indicators that effectively and early detect possible imbalances in the areas of employment, equality and education.

In this way, the aim is to prevent and correct social emergencies. These indicators are given the same importance as economic indicators in order to ensure that the social dimension and the needs of EU citizens are placed on an equal footing with macroeconomic issues, with the aim of realising the employment, training, education, equality and non-discrimination rights recognised in the European Pillar of Social Rights.

The measure has been welcomed by several EU countries after being presented on 15 October at the last Council of Employment and Social Policy Ministers in Luxembourg. "A useful Europe cannot ignore the social consequences of its policies", said Minister Díaz in her appearance.

Enhancing the Social Economy

Another of the points discussed between Vice-President Díaz and Minister Mendes was the importance of the Social Economy, a development model that both neighbouring countries encourage because it is committed to values such as social innovation, as well as promoting social integration and population fixation in rural areas that are susceptible to depopulation.

"We both agree that the fact that social economy enterprises are rooted in the territory where they are based makes them less prone to relocation," said Minister Mendes Godinho.

Díaz has reiterated her commitment to the Social Economy, a sector that can be a transformational engine, which delves into social, environmental and good governance responsibility, but needs greater visibility.

Non official translation