On Friday, 29 November 2013, the Directors General for Industrial Relations of the EU Member States held their biannual meeting in Athens, in view of the upcoming Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which commences on 1 January 2014.
 
During the morning session, the priorities of the Greek Presidency in social affairs were presented by Konstantinos Maggas, Director General for Labour. The Greek Presidency priorities in the fields of work, employment and social cohesion are structured on three axes: 1) promoting employment and combating unemployment, 2) strengthening the social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union with emphasis on social investments and social innovation and 3) promoting social dialogue at all levels.
 
The main themes on the agenda of the meeting of the Directors General for Industrial Relations and the representatives of the Commission included developments regarding Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the Member States. More specifically, topics such as the internal flexibility of companies and the operational consequences of REFIT (i.e. the Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme) were discussed. A presentation was also made by the European Commission concerning current and forthcoming activities in the fields of social dialogue at EU level and Labour law.
 
Through the discussions, the significance of both the social dimension in the decision-making procedure in the EU and the social dialogue in the shaping of industrial relations were underlined.
 
The Meeting of Directors General for Industrial Relations of EU Member States is held before the official commencement of each EU Presidency, with a view to providing a body for consultation, reflection, exchange of experience and cooperation between the Member States and the Commission, in the field of labour law and industrial relations. This cooperation is of great importance in view of the evermore transnational nature of industrial relations. The High Level Group of Directors-General for Industrial Relations could give advice to the Commission, either on its own initiative or on request, in order to help the Commission in its work.