SOCIAL PARTNERS : TREATY CHANGE: UNIONS HAVE THEIR SAY.

• Position: European Trade Union Confederation - Brief article

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) does not support an amendment of the Lisbon Treaty but faced with the pressure from the Franco-German camp, it accepts that that may happen and insists on being heard in the process if any decision to modify the treaty is taken. This is the substance of a message adopted by the ETUC Executive Committee, on 7 December 2011. "It is the future of citizens, and not the opinion of rating agencies, to which your concerns must be directed [ ] Treaty change must follow a fully democratic process. In no event can it be disguised into a technical exercise," warned the confederation, demanding that a "social progress protocol" be attached to the revised treaty. The ETUC then invited the Danish authorities, who will assume the Presidency of the EU Council on 1 January 2012, to meet with the trade unions in early January to discuss the concerns and proposals expressed by them.

On 5 December, the ETUC sent an...