Opening Session of the 8th European Regional Meeting of the International Labour Organization

The 8th European Regional Meeting of the International Labour Organization (ILO) opened in Lisbon, Portugal with calls for an integrated approach to halt the spiraling economic slowdown and build a new, “stronger, cleaner and fairer” economy for the future. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said the present crisis, painful as it was, presented an opportunity to forge longer term solutions that go beyond fixing the financial and banking system, and referred the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda as a practical guide forward. In his statement to the plenary, the Prime Minister of Portugal, HE Mr. José Socrates said: “It was Europe – as part of its ambitious integration process – that took the most consistent steps towards building a balanced and inclusive social model. And it’s the Europe of today that has a bigger responsibility to adopt efficient and fair responses to the current crisis and to the challenges we face in the world of work, by backing social protection and social dialogue”.