Belgian EU presidency promotes strong social agenda including mental health at work and work-related carcinogens

The Council of the European Union will be headed by Belgium for the first six months of 2024, a special year for the EU institutions because next June, the citizens of the 27 Member States will elect 720 Members of the European Parliament and the term of office of the current college of European Commissioners will end in October 2024. 

Building on the European Pillar of Social Rights, the Belgian Presidency aims to equip the EU with a strong social agenda to promote a European society that is more inclusive, gender-equal and fair for all. This is necessary given the current context with its many challenges, including an ageing population and environmental and technological transitions, for example driven by Artificial Intelligence. Hence the importance of decent wages, good quality work and strong social protection. The Presidency will seek to strengthen social dialogue at all levels, promote fair labour mobility, mental health at work as well as access to sustainable social protection. 

EU-OSHA contributes to this ambitious agenda by participating in a high-level conference on mental health and work and in an event on the Roadmap on Carcinogens. The thematic day of the Senior Labour Inspectors Committee (SLIC) also deals with carcinogens at work.

Belgium also wants to lay a solid foundation for the EU Strategic Agenda 2024-2029. As such, it can help shape the broad directions taken by the EU in the near future.

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