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Boyko Borissov participated in the meeting online. Photo government press service
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The online participation of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in the Social Summit in Porto, which is the culmination of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU, has started, the government press service announced. The focus of the forum will be on defining the European agenda for the next decade, which will ensure that the European community faces the challenges of the present and the future without anyone being left behind.
The EU Social Summit aims to strengthen the commitment of Member States, the European institutions, the social partners and civil society to the implementation of the Action Plan for the European Pillar of Social Rights. EC President Ursula von der Leyen has put the European Pillar of Social Rights at the heart of the Commission’s action to ensure a fair and inclusive recovery.
The Action Plan, presented by the EC in March 2021, proposes a number of initiatives and sets out three main goals to be achieved across Europe by 2030. According to the first of the targets, at least 78% of the population aged 20- 64 must be employed by 2030, according to the second – at least 60% of all adults should participate in training each year. In this regard, at least 80% of people aged 16-74 are required to have digital skills and to reduce the dropout rate. The EC’s third goal is to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million by 2030.
The social summit and the informal meeting of EU leaders in Porto are taking place on two consecutive days. The Social Summit will take place today, focusing on the best way to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Prime Minister Boyko Borissov will take part in the panel on skills and innovation. In it, the Bulgarian Prime Minister will take the position that the rapid penetration of digital technologies, economic transformation and demographic change are factors that have a significant impact on the development of the labor market, jobs and skills.
An informal meeting of EU heads of state and government will also take place in Porto, which will continue with a working session of leaders on Saturday. The Heads of State and Government of the EU Member States will discuss how to give a strong political impetus to the European Social Pillar and its implementation.
The Porto Declaration on the EU’s social dimension will be adopted at the informal European Council on 8 May.
The topics of the informal meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the EU member states today will be the COVID coordination and the forthcoming meeting of the European leaders with the Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi, which will take place tomorrow. It is the 16th EU-India summit with the aim of upgrading and intensifying established relations, especially in the current context of the coronavirus pandemic.
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