On 4 and 5 July, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the European Commission (Commission) held their 16th High-Level meeting in Brussels bringing together high-level representatives and around 150 colleagues across different departments from the headquarters in Geneva and Brussels, as well as from ILO field offices and EU delegations. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr Moussa Oumarou, Deputy Director-General for Field Operations and Partnerships of the ILO and Mr Joost Korte, Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the Commission.

As the world of work is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the Russian Federation’s aggression towards Ukraine, the High-Level Meeting was a timely and valuable opportunity to reaffirm EU-ILO partnership to address issues of common concern in the year ahead. The ILO and the Commission discussed developments and agreed to intensify their exchanges, embark on joint initiatives and reinforce their partnership.

The following items were discussed at the high-level segment:

• Building back better for a sustainable future by leveraging the green and digital transitions;
• Socio-economic impact of the war in Ukraine;
• Decent work in Supply Chains;
• Promoting International Labour Standards, Trade and Labour;
• Promoting Occupational Safety and Health (OSH).

Seven technical meetings took place on the following issues:

• Unlocking the social and economic potential of care;
• Decent work in fishing and the maritime sector worldwide;
• Youth employment;
• Labour market inequalities;
• Decent work and the social and solidarity economy (SSE);
• Working towards the elimination of forced labour and child labour;
• Skills development and comprehensive policies to ensure fair and just twin (green and digital) transitions.