madam president i am very happy to support the call for the ratification and implementation of the updated ilo conventions by the eu member states
it is certainly worth saying that when the ilo was created in nineteen nineteen after the treaty of versailles which ended the first world war it was to reflect the belief that universal and lasting peace can only be accomplished if it is based on social justice
in the intervening eighty years the ilo has responded to the needs of people all around the globe for decent jobs livelihoods and dignity
tonight we are asking all members states of the eu to ratify and implement the updated ilo conventions but it is not just the authors of this question who are asking many other agencies and bodies are also
if you look at the united nations supplier code of conduct you will see that the ilo conventions have served as a foundation on which most of the code of conduct is based and it is the un's expectation that any supplier providing goods and services to the un will adhere to the principles of the code of conduct
therefore these conventions need to be ratified and implemented across the globe so that all suppliers can adhere to them
surely we can manage that in the eu
the european commission in its communication on the renewed social agenda states the commission calls upon all member states to set an example by ratifying and implementing the ilo conventions that are up to date
in a resolution on the renewed social agenda approved by the last european parliament in may of this year again we state that we consider that strengthening of the implementation and enforcement of existing labour law under national and community law and under ilo conventions must be a priority for eu institutions and member states
so tonight we in parliament are reinforcing all of those calls
we are asking the presidency-in-office to be as ambitious as possible on the matter we are calling on member states to consider the strong social arguments for ratifying and implementing these conventions and we are asking the commission to consider the adoption of a recommendation to the member states to encourage the ratification of conventions that are up to date
we also believe that the eu must ensure coherence between its internal and external policies
in this parliament we hear again and again about exchanging best practice between member states
surely this is a prime example of where we can achieve best practice among ourselves by all member states ratifying the relevant conventions and promote best practice externally or globally by as the commission itself suggests setting an example by ratifying the up-to-date conventions
today twenty-five november seven six hundred and fifty ilo conventions have been ratified globally with forty-seven in the last twelve months
we expect europe to lead the way on climate change in copenhagen we could do similar good work with the ratification of all ilo conventions
