13 November 2026
SMEunited and EuroCommerce have joined the Coalition for the Freedom to Stay, further broadening the voice of enterprises. Their participation brings the perspectives of Europe’s crafts and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as retail and wholesale operators into a coalition that already unites providers of services of general interest, local and regional actors, social partners, policymakers and civil society.
SMEunited stresses that SMEs are rooted in their communities and provide products, services, local jobs, training opportunities and a sense of belonging. When local businesses can thrive, people have greater opportunities to build their future where they live.
EuroCommerce adds the perspective of a sector across urban, rural and remote areas. Retailers and wholesalers sustain employment, entrepreneurship, local supply chains and access to essential goods and services. Their continued local presence depends on competitive conditions, reliable transport, digital and energy infrastructures, proportionate regulation and a well-functioning Single Market.
The two new partners reinforce the Coalition’s central argument: the Freedom to Stay depends on both accessible, affordable and high-quality SGIs and dynamic local economies. By bringing together service providers with the organisations representing SMEs, retailers and wholesalers, the Coalition is better placed to show how jobs, infrastructures, essential services and viable businesses form one territorial ecosystem.
The Coalition will continue advocating for place-based actions that link competitiveness with social and territorial cohesion, enabling businesses and individuals to thrive throughout Europe.
Contact: Benoit Cassorla
On 12 November, SGI Europe met social dialogue contact points from across the European Commission Directorate-Generals, alongside BusinessEurope, SMEunited and ETUC, to discuss the recently published Commission Work Programme 2027 and identify initiatives requiring social partner involvement.
SGI Europe called for early and structured engagement in the European Care Deal, Skills Guarantee and initiatives on AI and algorithmic management at work. It highlighted the need to address recruitment, retention, working conditions and investment in care services, and to recognise essential services within strategic skills priorities. Social partners should also have a formal role in, or a permanent link to, the announced High-Level Experts Group on AI and the labour market.
On preparedness, SGI Europe stressed the contribution of essential-service employers and workers to maintaining services during emergencies. It called for involvement in the European Heatwave Plan and the civilian dimensions of the European Security Emergency Protocol, including planning, training, exercises and information sharing.
SGI Europe also highlighted the Right to Stay Strategy, connecting territorial cohesion with competitiveness and access to essential services. It advocated multilevel governance, partnership and place-based solutions, including the involvement of social partners, service providers and local and regional authorities in shaping, implementing and monitoring National and Regional Partnership Plans, alongside a stronger territorial dimension for the European Competitiveness Fund.
Across these priorities, SGI Europe underlined that social partners’ workplace expertise and implementation capacity should inform policy from the outset, through systematic cooperation across Commission departments.
Contact: Benoit Cassorla
On 10 November, the European Committee of the Regions’ (CoR) CIVEX Commission approved its draft opinion on A Simpler, Clearer and Better Enforced EU Rulebook, responding to the European Commission’s Communication of 28 April 2026.
The opinion welcomes the Commission’s simplification agenda, while stressing that simplification must not lead to deregulation or shift administrative burdens onto local and regional authorities. It calls for greater coherence between EU rules, realistic implementation deadlines and adequate resources for administrations taking on additional responsibilities.
The CoR supports the simplicity by design approach and calls for stronger impact assessments, including administrative costs and territorial effects of legislation. It also advocates limiting delegated and implementing acts to what is strictly necessary and prioritising the effective enforcement of existing rules before introducing new obligations.
On subsidiarity and proportionality, the opinion warns against a systematic preference for regulations over directives where this would restrict territorial flexibility. It also supports efforts to prevent gold-plating, while preserving the capacity for national, regional and local adaptation.
On digitalisation, the CoR supports the once-only principle and greater interoperability, while calling for non-digital alternatives to remain available.
The opinion further calls for greater involvement of local and regional authorities throughout the legislative process, including through consultations, implementation dialogues and the new Simplification Platform. It also emphasises the importance of maintaining territorial safeguards and ensuring that simplification benefits rural and peripheral areas.
The opinion is expected to be submitted for final adoption at the CoR plenary session on 3-4 February 2027.
Contact: Raquel Carro-Andollo
From 9-20 November, the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) is taking place in Antalya, Turkey. Governments are discussing stronger emission cuts, climate finance and adaptation while pursuing progress under the Paris Agreement.
The latest UNEP’s 2026 Emissions Gap Report finds that a temporary overshoot of 1.5°C is unavoidable. Full implementation of current national pledges still points towards 2.6°C of warming this century. Faster reductions are needed to minimise the overshoot.
Methane reduction is, amongst other priorities, a top discussion of the COP31’s Zero Waste agenda. Emitted by agriculture, livestock and decomposing organic waste, methane traps more than 80 times as much heat as CO₂ per tonne over 20 years. Preventing these emissions can deliver rapid climate benefits.
For SGI Europe, the response begins with prevention. Services of General Interest, local authorities and emissions reductions at the centre of Europe's 2050 climate-neutrality objective. Product design must favour durability, repairability and recyclability, supported by effective collection, recycling and producer responsibility.
Landfilling biodegradable waste should be avoided, as uncontrolled decomposition releases methane. Separately collected organic waste should instead be composted or processed into biogas. For non-recyclable residual waste, efficient waste-to-energy facilities can recover heat and electricity, reducing reliance on landfill without replacing prevention or recycling. This approach respects the waste hierarchy while strengthening resource security, local energy supply, and investment certainty for operators delivering essential services across European communities and businesses.
Alongside mitigation, locally adapted resilience plans and investment must protect essential services from increasingly severe climate impacts.
COP31 negotiations aim to strengthen international implementation of the Paris Agreement. Final decisions are expected towards the end of next week, with the conference scheduled to close on 20 November.
SGI Europe underlines that achieving climate neutrality and preparing for unavoidable climate impacts are inseparable responsibilities. This requires social dialogue, skilled workers and cooperation with local authorities. Europe's transition must protect service continuity, affordability and the communities relying on public services and SGIs.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On 10 November, SGI Europe contributed to the 2026 Stakeholder Conference of the European Network of Public Employment Services in Brussels during its closing high-level panel discussion.
This comes as the Commission considers further active-inclusion action and extending the Network beyond 2027.
The intervention highlighted the deep transformation underway in Public Employment Services. PES are increasingly expected to anticipate labour-market transitions, reach people outside employment, provide career guidance and coordinate with a wider range of services. Artificial intelligence may support this work, but it also requires reliable data, skilled staff and clear governance. This transformation is taking place while many PES face staff reductions, more complex caseloads and financial pressure.
For SGI Europe, active inclusion also depends on access to enabling services. PES can identify barriers, coordinate referrals and use case information to reveal territorial service gaps. They cannot replace unavailable childcare, transport, healthcare or housing. This reflects SGI Europe’s Freedom to Stay agenda: a vacancy is not an effective opportunity if people cannot reach it or access the services needed to remain in employment.
SGI Europe also called for a stronger relationship between PES and employers. The PES Capacity Report shows a substantial long-term decline in an indicator of PES reach within the vacancy market. Although recruitment channels have changed, PES still need reliable information on vacancies and emerging skills needs to provide effective guidance and matching.
SGI Europe therefore supports a future PES mandate that strengthens operational capacity, territorial cooperation and structured employer and social-partner involvement across Europe.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
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