Is more social welfare possible when competitiveness is the order of the day? This is the central question that will arise in the trilogue negotiations on the reform of European works councils that begin today. The dossier is the first in the area of labor and social affairs to be negotiated in the new legislative period. It has been left over from the previous mandate, in which trade unionists and social policy-makers received a significant boost. In the current Commission, but also in the Council and in Parliament, social politicians are less present today.