Speeches

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the vote in plenary on the report on fair working conditions, rights and social protection for platform workers marks an important milestone for new forms of employment linked to digital development. Indeed, platform work has raised concerns about precariousness, poor working conditions, lack of or difficulty in accessing adequate social protection, unfair competition, undeclared work, fragmented and unpredictable incomes and working hours, lack of dispute settlement mechanisms, deskilling and lack of career opportunities, and lack of occupational safety and health measures. I must, however, mention a few points which do not convince us in the report, and I therefore ask the Commissioner in future proceedings to deepen his call on the Commission to monitor progress in the Member States in the area of social protection and in the context of the European Semester. The importance of training can also be emphasised, although the Commission is asked to address the issue of education and training of platform workers, which is not its responsibility. In addition, the call on the Commission to consider establishing a "European quality label" for digital platforms: In addition to going a little further, what is the point of a European quality label? Should not all platforms be able to respect and guarantee the same rights? Do you want to create A-series platforms and B-series platforms? On this we will try to do our work of stimulus, we are comforted by the fact that often the extra-parliamentary history returns to us the reason that in the Chamber we are denied.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would also like to thank the chairman of the Bușoi Committee for his motion and for explaining the importance of strengthening the European Research Area. The pandemic that has hit the world and Europe in particular has shown how vital it is for research to be at the heart of European strategic programming. For this reason, as a group, we welcome and share some points highlighted in the motion, especially with regard to those dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises and universities, and I will tell you why. Everyone here has said that the value of the role played by the private sector is important in improving Europe's research and innovation capacity, boosting new innovations and promoting Europe's competitiveness and sustainability. We therefore, together with you, believe that this can be achieved by facilitating access to funds for small and medium-sized enterprises and providing more help by significantly reducing red tape. And on this we may not be there yet. We must therefore close the gap between industry and academia to monetize, but not only in money, the results achieved in the university and to see the efforts concretized in results aimed at improving the life of the citizen. The Commission should encourage the transfer of know-how and success stories between Member States. In this regard, as Friulian – Friuli-Venezia Giulia is a region in the North-East of Italy – I would like to draw attention to the initiative of the University of Udine, which, through the Uniud Lab Village project, intends to strengthen the link between researchers, students and businesses in order to increase their technology transfer. This innovative area intends to create the ways to build a common design path, in such a way as to give concrete, innovative and measurable answers to the productive, social and economic sector by increasing the link with the territory. This innovative thrust of Friuli-Venezia Giulia has been proven again this year with the reconfirmation of the inclusion of the same in the list of highly innovative European regions. That's what we have to push the accelerator on and that's what we have to push on.