Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Removed2. Highlights that the impact of decarbonisation on employment goes beyond reductions in fossil fuels sectors and will have a broader impact in terms of job redefinition and overall labour market transition; stresses the need for the forthcoming update of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan and the new Quality Jobs Roadmap to include a set of concrete legislative and non-legislative measures that tangibly improve the working conditions, health and safety, collective bargaining coverage and training and skills of workers’ and the self-employed; stresses that such measures also provide an opportunity to support Union employers, particularly SMEs, to retain and improve their competitiveness by providing a clear framework for anticipating and managing change in partnership with workers and to invest in vocational education and training (VET), up-skilling and re-skilling workers to address skills and labour shortages that impede productivity and growth;

Removed3. Calls on the Commission, following consultation of the social partners, to propose a directive to ensure a just transition in the world of work and facilitate the Union’s transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral, and digital economy; believes that this directive should include measures to ensure, inter alia:

Added– having regard the Opinion on the dimensions of job quality of the Employment Committee (EMCO) of the Council of the European Union of 6 June 2025,

Removed(a) a dedicated framework to anticipate and manage change through the timely information and consultation of workers and their representatives, social dialogue and collective bargaining;

Added– having regard the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Towards a just transition legislative proposal and EU policy tools that enable a more social European Green Deal of 4 December 2024,

Removed(b) an individual right to cost-free training for workers during working hours;

Removed(c) the establishment of national just transition strategies;

AddedA. whereas the green and digital transitions are having a profound transformative effect on Europe’s economies, societies, regions and workplaces in different ways, requiring comprehensive social and employment policy measures to prevent adverse impacts and promote economic, social and territorial cohesion; whereas ensuring an effective shift to a climate-neutral and digitalised economy and a reduction on energy supply dependencies is essential for Europe’s long-term prosperity, wellbeing, sustainability, growth and competitiveness; whereas the ultimate success of the twin transition will depend heavily on ensuring that transition is just and inclusive for workers, businesses and regions and that it contributes to social justice for all, with particular focus on the most vulnerable, in order to ensure that no one is left behind; whereas a fair transition alone could yield 261 billion euro per year in benefits, particularly by addressing social inequalities and regional disparities; whereas the pathways of each affected region will be different, based on their economic and social realities;

Removed(d) the development of business support programmes and the promotion of enterprise-level transition plans;

AddedB. whereas the effects of the twin transition on employment are asymmetrical across the Union and the socio-economic impact varies greatly across different regions; whereas a spatial challenge arises, as jobs in the modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy may be created in different regions from those experiencing job losses;

AddedC. whereas the transitions must be managed in a way to ensure social inclusion, to reduce poverty and inequalities, and to seize the potential to create quality jobs, foster democracy at work, protect workers’ rights and raise labour standards across affected sectors;

AddedD. whereas EU labour markets remain territorially divided and whereas job quality and employment contracts show a rise in non-standard forms, especially among youth;

AddedE. whereas managing the shift to a carbon neutral economy should not only support transitions to new quality jobs in emerging sectors but also maintain and adapt existing jobs and sectors to more sustainable and clean industries and technologies for people, especially those living in more impacted territories; whereas a particular focus on regions and industries dependent on fossil fuels is crucial as these will have to be redesigned to meet the Union’s climate commitments; whereas it is important that everyone, including workers and jobseekers are supported in managing transitions in order to foster understanding and acceptance and effectiveness of the goals of the 2050 long-term strategy; whereas as shown by Eurofound research, broad involvement of civil society, social partners and public authorities in the transition process is critical to securing and fairly distributing the returns from economic activity and resources, as well as navigating conflicts;

AddedF. whereas Europe’s economic transformation requires a strong focus on competitiveness and growth; whereas entrepreneurs and job creators must be given the right conditions to invest and expand, and ensuring efficient use of funds is essential to attract private investment; whereas it is important that citizens, in both urban and rural areas, are engaged in and supportive of a just transition that balances competitiveness with solidarity, and that they can be confident their job, income and way of life will be safeguarded so that no one is left behind;

AddedG. whereas while a number of important Union legislative and non-legislative initiatives aim to or can help address the impacts of the twin transition (in particular, the Just Transition Mechanism, the JTF, the EGF, the Union of Skills, the Social Climate Fund, the ESF+ and the RRF) and enhance competitiveness, gaps remain in the legislative and policy framework when it comes to disruptions at the workplace, workers’ rights, social protection, social dialogue and education and training opportunities; whereas only action at Union level can ensure real added value and concurrent upward social convergence to make the promise of ‘leaving no-one behind’ a reality, while taking into account national labour market models and traditions;

AddedH. whereas the Draghi report identifies persistent skills shortages as a barrier to innovation, technology adoption and decarbonisation efforts in turn hampering growth and competitiveness; whereas nearly four in five small and medium sized businesses in the EU report difficulties in finding workers with the right skillset; whereas a decline in education and training systems, particularly adult education and training, are failing to prepare the workforce for the twin transitions; whereas participation in adult learning remains insufficient as only 39.5% of adults engage in training annually, far below the 2030 target of at least 60% and some 50 million more workers would need to receive training in order to reach it;

AddedI. whereas through investing in high-skill development, the EU can foster a virtuous cycle of increased productivity, higher wages, and greater economic equality; whereas almost 50% of adults may need upskilling or reskilling; whereas the EU's energy sector alone will require at least 145.000 skilled workers by 2030; whereas clean tech is one of the drivers of economic prosperity in Europe, contributing to 30% of EU growth and creating millions of jobs in 2023 alone;

AddedJ. whereas Europe’s strategies for skills, competitiveness and investment should create opportunities for both large companies and SMEs, while also addressing national, regional and local needs; whereas policies that reinforce industrial capacity, encourage entrepreneurship and build a workforce with skills adapted to local realities are essential to ensure that all Europeans can benefit from growth and innovation;

AddedK. whereas adequately funded welfare and social protection systems are a prerequisite for ensuring a fair and just transition towards climate neutrality and digital transformation; whereas the Draghi report further stresses the need to ensure that productivity growth and social inclusion go hand-in-hand with Member States’ welfare systems which are critical to provide strong public services, social protection, housing, transport and childcare during the transition; whereas quality jobs, decent working conditions, access to social protection, social dialogue and collective bargaining play a crucial role in attracting and retaining the workforce and are important for the Union’s competitiveness and workplace democracy;

AddedL. whereas according to the Commission report on Employment and Social Developments in Europe 2024 (ESDE 2024), constraints on participation in adult education and training are attributed to barriers such as perceived lack of necessity, insufficient supply or difficulties in accessing relevant quality training, schedule conflicts, balancing family responsibilities and financial constraints; whereas the Draghi report calls for the EU to ensure that all workers have a right to education and retraining, allowing them to move into new roles as their companies adopt technology, or into quality jobs in new sectors;

AddedM. whereas an integrated policy mix combining education and skills development, finance and industrial policy is a key enabler for Europe’s competitiveness, social resilience and fairness, strategic autonomy, investment and sustainable job creation; whereas the green and digital transition requires significant investments in reskilling, upskilling, vocational education and training and lifelong learning to equip workers with both the technical skills specific to each occupation and the core soft skills required; whereas older, low-skilled and female workers may face greater obstacles in ‘skilling up’ and competing for new jobs; whereas education and training efforts must therefore be closely linked with just transition policies; whereas disadvantaged workers and communities will require targeted support to ensure they are not left behind;

AddedN. whereas important economic disparities continue to exist between EU Members States and regions, with big differences in terms of GDP since 2012, linked to the share of industry in economic activity;

AddedO. whereas the Letta report considers that the freedom of movement and the 'freedom to stay’ are two sides of the same coin and must be developed together; whereas the Letta report considers the freedom of movement should be a free choice, and not as a necessity to compensate for the lack of jobs in some regions; whereas the report stresses the need to provide opportunities for citizens in all regions, especially in rural areas, including the need for quality jobs, and the need to tackle inequalities within and between countries; whereas the green transition if not adequately designed and supported, could affect vulnerable regions in Eastern and Southern Europe disproportionally more in terms of unemployment risks and job losses; whereas coal-dependent territories add a further layer of vulnerability with employment rates 10-15% below the EU average;

AddedP. whereas the Quality Jobs Roadmap is expected to promote measures that support Member States and industries in providing decent working conditions and access to training, setting high standards for health and safety at work, ensuring fair job transitions for workers and self-employed notably and collective bargaining, with a view to attracting talent and contributing to the competitiveness of European industries; whereas, in this context the Commission is expected to discuss a framework with social partners to support restructuring processes at EU and Member State level; whereas this framework will be focused on just transition, on anticipation of change, early intervention when there is a threat of restructuring, and an improved information and consultation;

AddedQ. whereas the administrative and technical capacity of local stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of the Just Transition needs to be strengthened; whereas Member States still face significant challenges in effectively managing and implementing EU funds at local level and in assessing the various impacts of climate policies; whereas the implementation of the Just Transition Fund has been slow, as shown by the payment rate of only 32.2% by the end of 2024; whereas the number of jobs created by the JTF is not on track to cover the number of jobs forecast to be lost as carbon-intensive industries shift to cleaner technologies; whereas SMEs form the backbone of the European economy and create a large share of permanent local jobs; whereas specific provisions for SMEs are needed to strengthen their role in the Just Transition;

Added1. Highlights that the successful transition to more sustainable energy sources, and modernised industries and a more digitalised economy will play a major role in the long-term competitiveness of Union businesses on the global market and must lead to the creation of quality jobs in the Union; underlines the need to ensure that businesses and workers are well equipped to take advantage of the opportunities arising from the switch to new and innovative solutions and underlines the importance of decent work and jobs covered by collective agreements, which are indispensable to ensure social progress and acceptance of the transition; believes that a legislative framework to address the challenges and opportunities of a just transition in the workplace is essential to ensure adequate minimum standards the that provide clarity and structure for both workers and employers in anticipating and managing change and ultimately improve the Union’s resilience, competitiveness and upward social convergence and social justice; stresses that regions can support the just transition by combining social protection, economic diversification, and territorial coordination to reduce negative impacts, strengthen local economies and promote inclusive development;

Added2. Highlights that the impact of decarbonisation on employment goes beyond reductions in fossil fuels sectors and will have a broader impact in terms of job redefinition and overall labour market transition; welcomes in this regard the announcement of a Quality Jobs Act with the aim to ensure employment practices keep up with developments in the modern economy; stresses the need for this Act together with the forthcoming update of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan and the new Quality Jobs Roadmap to include a set of concrete measures that tangibly improve the working conditions, health and safety, democracy at work, collective bargaining coverage and training and skills of workers’ and the self-employed, as well as ensure the effective enforcement of EU employment and social policy legislation; stresses that such measures also provide an opportunity to support Union employers, particularly SMEs, to retain and improve their competitiveness by providing a clear framework, including practical guidance and supportive tools for anticipating and managing change in partnership with workers and to invest in vocational education and training (VET), up-skilling and re-skilling workers to address skills and labour shortages that impede productivity and growth as well as future perspectives for workers;

Added3. Stresses that digitalisation must be implemented in a human-centred way, preventing excessive surveillance of workers and ensuring the right to disconnect, as well as fair working time arrangements.

Added4. Reiterate its call on the Commission, following consultation of the social partners to propose a directive to ensure a just transition in the world of work and facilitate the Union’s transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral, and digital economy; believes that this proposal should include, on the basis of an impact assessment, measures to ensure, inter alia:

Added(a) a dedicated framework to anticipate and manage change through the mandatory and timely information and consultation of workers and their representatives, social dialogue and collective bargaining on the design of just transition measures and mechanisms;

Added(b) an individual right to training for workers during working hours;

Added(c) the establishment of national just transition strategies, that include regional and sectoral plans, developed and implemented with the involvement of social partners, while avoiding unnecessary administrative burdens on the Member States;

Added(d) the development of business support programmes, in particular for SMEs, which ensure full respect for their obligations under EU and national social and labour law and collective agreements and the promotion of enterprise-level transition plans;

Removed9. Calls for the proposed directive to be accompanied by a revamped Just Transition Fund for the post-2027 programming period, ensuring that it operates under shared management and partnership principles with an increased budget; stresses that the new Fund should support employers in providing workers’ right to training as well as the roll out of transition plans at enterprise level; urges for transition funding to include social conditionalities to support inclusion;

Added10. Stresses that Eurostat’s regional projections indicate a continued decline in the working-age population across many territories during the 2020s and 2030s, particularly in regions already affected by ageing and geographical mobility ; underlines that such trends risk weakening labour supply, and in turn threaten long-term development, at the very moment when skilled workers are essential for the green and digital transitions; Emphasises the importance of people’s ‘right to stay’ in their regions or local areas and the need for targeted strategies for rural and peripheral areas; calls on the Commission and the Member States to support place-based policies that create economic opportunities for both people and companies in rural regions, attract private investment, and generate local jobs; underlines that such strategies are necessary to strengthen economic opportunities in rural areas, support quality job creation, innovation, local industrial renewal and, ultimately, ensure that citizens can build their future in their communities;

Removed10. Calls on the Member States to ensure sufficient funding for quality skills and vocational training programmes as a long-term investment in workers’ and businesses’ productivity, growth and competitiveness; calls on Member States, with the support of the Commission, to strategically leverage existing Union instruments to implement the Union of Skills, particularly the Skills Guarantee; calls on Member States to increase the use of national Emission Trading Scheme revenues for training of workers and labour reallocation; calls on the Commission to explore and issue guidance on how public-private partnerships between Member States and enterprises can fund the training, reskilling and upskilling of workers in particular the right to training for individual workers;

Added11. Recalls that SMEs are the main generators of durable local employment; stresses the need to facilitate simplified, proportionate and SME-friendly access to transition funding, including by allowing for clustering arrangements for accessing funds and reporting obligations, digital one-stop-shops and mandatory technical assistance to guide project design and compliance; urges Member States and regional authorities to establish and strengthen business support programmes in the affected regions to help start-ups and SMEs grow and succeed; highlights that investment incentives coupled with social conditionalities can help attract firms to vulnerable regions while ensuring sustainable development of the local economy; stresses the need to help companies, in particular SMEs, to address skills shortages in the Union and to promote reskilling and upskilling, helping people to get the right skills for quality jobs; calls on the European Commission to ensure dedicated support for SMEs under the future just transition financing; further calls on the European Commission to keep track of SMEs participation in just transition programmes;

Removed11. Highlights that strong social safety nets and social protection systems are essential to support workers during periods of transition; calls on Member States to modernise and strengthen their social protection systems and services in order to ensure resilience against shocks resulting from the twin transition impacting the labour market;

Added12. Highlights that the social economy, in particular work integration social enterprises, play a crucial role in ensuring inclusive and fair transitions; stresses the need for support in the access to funding, capacity-building and technical assistance;

Removed12. Stresses that the impact on employment will differ across regions and populations; highlights in this regard the need to engage and empower local citizens and stakeholders to be active actors in the transition; stresses that public authorities must engage in strategic consultation and cooperation with social partners during the management of the transition; stresses that meaningful participation can be ensured through early-stage consultations and clear mandates and voting rights for social partners, SMEs civil society and youth in regional coordination bodies;

Added13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to facilitate both large-scale and small-scale investments and design policies that unlock economic opportunities for the private sector, in particular for SMEs, by reducing administrative burden, lowering co-financing requirements and simplifying access to funding while respecting workers’ and consumer protection rights; underlines that such investment is essential to strengthen Europe’s industrial and technological base, create high-quality jobs, and secure a skilled workforce that is adapted to local realities, resources and specific needs, in order to fully harness regional potential and drive competitiveness, sustainable growth and long-term value creation; stresses that entrepreneurs and small companies are central to investment, innovation and job creation particularly in rural and less-developed regions, and that funding windows and technical assistance must be tailored to their needs to fully harness their potential in the green and digital economy and drive sustainable growth and long-term value creation;

Removed13. Requests that the Commission submit, by 31 January 2027, on the basis of Articles 153(2), point (b), in conjunction with Article 153 (1), points (a), (b), (e) and (h) TFEU, a proposal for a directive on the just transition in the world of work, following the recommendations set out in the Annex hereto;

Added14. Notes the lack of accurate disaggregated data on the number of jobs lost, created or impacted by the twin transitions; underlines the importance of forecasting changes in the labour market and trends in skill needs for effective policy and timely responses; stresses the need to identify, exchange and promote best practices; calls for the consolidation of the collection of relevant data and analysis of the impact of transition policies; welcomes the inception of the pilot project for the EU Fair Transition Observatory; stresses that energy and transport poverty indicators should be systematically integrated into just transition monitoring structures to ensure funding and job creation measures target vulnerable households first;

Added15. Encourages community-level renovation schemes covering neighbourhoods or villages, reducing costs, strengthening cohesion, and accelerating transition.

Added16. Regrets that the proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034 does not include a stand-alone instrument to address the Just Transition; highlights that dedicated funding continues to be necessary to support the impacted regions address the challenges stemming from the Green Transition; calls in this regard for an extended and enlarged Just Transition Fund for the post-2027 programming period, ensuring that it operates under shared management and partnership principles within the framework of cohesion policy and with an increased budget; stresses that the new Fund should support employers in providing workers’ right to training as well as the roll out of transition plans at enterprise level; stresses that training should be of a high quality, aligned with the needs of the labour market, and lead to qualifications and credentials that are validated through transparent and clear certification systems which allow for mutual recognition between Member States; urges for transition funding to include social conditionalities to support inclusion;

Added17. Recalls that despite its transformative ambitions, the JTF has encountered significant challenges in achieving its objectives, particularly in ensuring equitable outcomes and providing access to the fund for small and medium-sized enterprises; calls for simplified access to the Just Transition Fund for SMEs by providing technical assistance and reducing administrative burdens;

Added18. Highlights the importance of digital skills development for workers at both basic and advanced levels; underlines the need to equip citizens with essential digital literacy, data awareness and the safe use of online tools to remain employable and adaptable, while also fostering more advanced competences;

Added19. Stresses that education and training institutions need to enhance the relevance of their training to meet competitive labour market needs and prepare learners, trainers and teachers with the relevant knowledge and skills to be active agents of change in a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and a society for all; emphasises that effective training depends on the availability of teachers and trainers with current knowledge on sustainable and green economy, energy efficiency and green and digital technologies; highlights that their role is critical in promoting the right skills and competences for both the younger and older generations of workers and appropriate reskilling and upskilling training for the persons affected by the green transition; stresses that the education and training of such teachers and trainers should therefore be a priority in any skills response strategy at European, national, regional and local levels;

Added20. Stresses that direct public and private investment into clean infrastructure, renewable energy projects and circular economy activities are necessary to revitalise local economies and contribute to the creation of quality jobs; highlights the need to leverage regional assets by investing in sectors where regions already have strengths or comparative advantages; believes that regional specialisation can form the basis of green industrial clusters; highlights that supporting research and innovation and encouraging collaboration between universities and businesses can drive new sustainable business models;

Added21. Stresses that a coherent, integrated policy mix is necessary for delivering on the objectives of the just transition; calls for climate and industrial measures by the EU to take into consideration inclusion, social protection and skills objectives; highlights the importance of ensuring that European and national funds are used to facilitate the green and digital transition, including by promoting social dialogue and collective bargaining; calls for EU funding and State aid by Member States to be aligned with a European industrial policy, in order to offer high-quality jobs, promote collective bargaining, respect of EU labour rights and standards, improve the competitiveness of European businesses and ensure improved working conditions;

Added22. Calls on the Member States to ensure sufficient funding for quality skills and vocational training programmes as a long-term investment in workers and businesses’ productivity, growth and competitiveness; calls on Member States, with the support of the Commission, to strategically leverage existing Union instruments to implement the Union of Skills, particularly the Skills Guarantee; calls on Member States to increase the use of national Emission Trading Scheme revenues for the training of workers and labour reallocation particularly for workers in carbon-intensive regions; calls on the Commission to explore and issue guidance on how public-private partnerships between Member States and enterprises can fund the training, reskilling and upskilling of workers in particular the right to training for individual workers;

Added23. Recalls the importance of disability mainstreaming and an intersectional approach addressing young, older, low-skilled and female workers across policy measures addressing the twin transition such as provision of reasonable accommodation in education and training;

Added24. Recalls the role that the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) plays in supporting workers affected by the green and digital transitions during its remaining programming period and encourages Member States, with the support of the Commission, to make full use of the Fund; welcomes the aim of the proposed revision to the current EGF to proactively support workers affected by imminent job displacement and speed up the approval procedure for applications; stresses the importance however of ensuring enterprises undergoing restructuring who wish to apply for the Fund do so in full consultation with workers and their representatives including in the design of the personalised package of measures; notes with concern the discontinuation of the (EGF) in the proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034; stresses the importance of active labour market and social protection measures in reintegrating displaced workers into the labour market following major restructuring events; calls on the Commission to ensure continued dedicated support for workers at risk from or displaced by major restructuring events in the next MFF;

Added25. Recalls the importance of ensuring a high level of workers’ occupational health and safety; stresses the importance of proactively addressing evolving OSH risks to work tasks, patterns and workplaces, particularly environmental and psychosocial risks, in the context of the twin transition; calls on the Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the current strategic framework on health and safety at work and the existing OSH legislative framework with a view to identifying remaining gaps and ensuring the EU acquis remains fit for purpose as well as feeding into the design of the post 2027 strategic framework;

Added26. Stresses that workplace transformations and restructuring during the twin transition may trigger psychosocial risks such as stress, uncertainty, and the threat of job loss; highlight the need for protecting the mental health and psychosocial well-being of workers during transitions, including through workplace risk assessments and support services; calls for mental health support programmes, including counselling, stress management, and work-life balance schemes, to be integrated into company-level transition plans;

Added27. Highlights the importance of supporting workers in strengthening their transformative, core and cognitive skills such as creative and critical thinking, foresight, resilience, flexibility and agility, motivation and self-awareness, curiosity and lifelong learning – in recognition of the importance of workers’ ability to adapt to disrupted workplaces, self-efficacy, and generate new solutions that the green and digital transformations require;

Added28. Welcomes the Cedefop policy brief on building a European qualifications map, which strengthens transparency, comparability and portability of qualifications across Europe; stresses that such a map must go beyond an academic exercise and serve as a practical tool for competitiveness, labour-market relevance and mobility; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that the European qualifications framework is firmly linked with economic needs, industrial policy and investment in skills and to thoroughly and systematically map the current skills gap at regional level as well as to forecast the future skills demand; underlines that such mapping should include impact analysis and lead to sectoral and territorial measures to benefit the potential of the green transition across all regions;

Added29. Highlights that strong social safety nets and social protection systems are essential to support workers and to ensure social cohesion during periods of transition; calls on Member States, in consultation with social partners and relevant civil society organisation, to modernise and strengthen their social protection systems and essential public services while ensuring their long-term sustainability and without increasing the financial burden on SMEs, with particular focus on healthcare, transport, education, social inclusion policies, income support and affordable housing as well as support to not-for-profit social service providers, in order to ensure resilience against shocks resulting from the twin transition impacting the labour market and that employees affected by job loss can maintain their standard of living as much as possible;

Added30. Urges the Member States to fully implement the Council Recommendation on social protection for workers and the self-employed; calls on the Commission to monitor risks and progress towards such actions through the Social Scoreboard and the Social Convergence Framework; stresses the importance of ensuring national Public Employment Services offerings are relevant to changing labour market developments to ensure support to and facilitate people changing jobs due to transitions;

Added31. Stresses the importance of targeted policies to support people most affected by the twin transitions, and in particular those in vulnerable situations; underlines that active support and early interventions are needed to prevent people in vulnerable situations from falling into long periods of unemployment or becoming discouraged workers; calls on the Member States to significantly increase active support to quality employment, in particular by supporting access to and preservation of quality employment, promoting entrepreneurship and stimulating the creation of quality jobs; highlights the role of work integration programmes, targeted procurement and local public works in generating transitional jobs; stresses the need for capacity building of local and regional authorities to successfully mobilise investment, engage with target groups in the development and delivery of social support schemes and to measure distributional effects;

Added32. Underlines the need to support short-time work schemes and the importance of targeted support for workers affected by transitions, building on the positive experience of SURE; calls for the Commission to propose a reinforced SURE mechanism aimed at the green and digital transition, as supporting such temporary employment-protection measures in times of crises can stabilise public expenditure dedicated to employment policies and just transition measures to mitigate the immediate impacts on jobs of the necessary transformation of the EU economy in line with the goals of a just transition;

Added33. Stresses that the impact on employment will differ across regions and populations; highlights in this regard the need to engage and empower local citizens and stakeholders, including relevant civil society organisations to be active actors in the transition; stresses that local and regional authorities should be directly involved in the design, selection and monitoring of projects to ensure funding addresses specific local needs and supports diversification of regional economies; stresses that public authorities must engage in strategic consultation and cooperation with social partners during the management of the transition; stresses that meaningful participation can be ensured through early-stage consultations and clear mandates and voting rights for social partners, SMEs, civil society, social economy and youth in regional coordination bodies;

Added34. Underlines that collective bargaining is central to fair wages, social justice, and democracy at work, yet coverage remains uneven; recalls the obligation of Member States with collective bargaining coverage below 80% to establish national action plans with clear timelines and specific measures to increase coverage; calls on the Commission to provide guidance and support to the Member States to strengthen bargaining systems, particularly at sectoral level, with the full involvement of social partners; stresses that the EU and Member States should support funding for capacity building of social partners, particularly at the regional level, as part of implementing the Council recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality to engage in structured social dialogue and collective bargaining on enterprise-level transition plans;

Added35. Calls on the Commission to carry out an impact assessment complemented by a competitiveness and SME test and to submit, by 31 January 2027, on the basis of Articles 153(2), point (b), in conjunction with Article 153 (1), points (a), (b), (e) and (h) TFEU and the result of the aforementioned steps, a legislative proposal on the just transition in the world of work, following the recommendations set out in the Annex hereto, which would address the remaining gaps in existing legislation and avoid creation of overlapping legal instruments;