Conference on European Coordination of social policies in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy
A meeting was held on September 14th and 15th on the topic of the coordination of social policies at the European level in the context of the new Europe 2020 strategy. The delegations of the Member States and international experts had an opportunity to examine different approaches to improvement based on past successes in the field. Political leaders, social partners and civil society had an opportunity to be heard.
The following is the closing speech given by Mrs Laurette Onkelinx, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
During the last EPSCO Council, a number of my European colleagues came out in support of the needed strengthening of governance in social matters. This will be discussed at the next EPSCO meeting in October which will, of course, take its cue from the work carried out by the Social Protection Committee and from the conclusions of the very interesting Conference concluding today.
As you know, the Belgian Presidency of the European Union has made the issue of a social Europe one of its top priorities. As Prof. Ferrara pointed out yesterday, there are three basic reasons motivating this priority:
1. First, the principal of social justice: a Europe for Citizens cannot be built by increasingly excluding dignity of life
2. Second, the social model is a productivity factor, as has been demonstrated by the role it played as an "automatic stabilizer" during the crisis we have just lived through
3. And, lastly, we recognise that it is a key factor in legitimising the European project.
I feel that the last point is fundamental. Globalisation is worrisome to Europeans, and rightly so. The weakness of our growth and the competitive environment that is pitting workers against each other around the world are of concern. Given this context we - the European Member States and institutions - rightly appear to be a bulwark against the social damage caused by globalisation which is, unfortunately, outstripping political decision-making.
This underscores the urgency of the issue! And this urgency is made even greater by a phenomenon which Roger Liddle very accurately noted: there is a growing divergence between social models across the European Union.
There is an urgent need for a Social Europe. And European social convergence is urgent!
We can no longer be satisfied with words. We must act. That is what our citizens expect of us. And it is what the various stakeholders were demanding – sometimes with great passion – during yesterday’s debates.
As Philippe Courard noted during his opening speech, this conference was essential because it will work as a “suggestion box” for everyone: the Commission, the Member States, the European Parliament and the Stakeholders.
By this yardstick, I feel confident in saying that many "good suggestions" were made during these two days of work. We heard positive proposals from first-line players and were made aware of a consensus on certain strong lines of action.
I think that everyone agrees that the social field must fully embrace the three major opportunities being offered:
1. The Union created the EU2020 Strategy which has affirmed the social dimension and intends to be a strategy that better integrates its components
2. The Treaty of Lisbon is opening new areas in the social field, particularly via the implementation of Article 9 of the Treaty –we spoke about this again.
3. The social dimension must absolutely carry its full weight in the debate under way on macroeconomic governance – Mrs Berès spoke of this at length.
First, the EU2020 strategy.
How can we use the social potential offered by EU2020?
This must happen at every level:
- At the Commission level, the flagship” poverty platform” must be ambitious and provide a broader perspective to the social challenges Europe is facing. As Prof. Zeitlin has said, this flagship must be the “face” of social Europe. The flagship must also enable maximum involvement by the various stakeholders. Many speakers insisted on the fact that this new "platform" should under no circumstances replace the social MOC. I will talk about this more later. Guideline n°10 must be effectively implemented at the Council level. This requires a number of concrete actions. I will mention five:
1. As pointed out by Prof. Walker, there must be ownership of the social objectives at the highest political level, both in the Member States and at the EU level, in order for them to be truly effective. The EPSCO Council has a major part to play in this respect, primarily before (within the framework of the recommendations that will be made there) and after (within the framework of the creation and assessment of the PNR) the spring Summit.
2. The Social Protection Committee is without a doubt the keystone of the process: given the new goals and the tasks to be completed by the SPC, reporting work must be simplified and more fully directed to results and the policy recommendations needed. The reporting and recommendations must, among other things, be based on a set of new and more stringent indicators that will enable assessment and monitoring of the social policies of the Member States referred to in all areas covered by the guideline. In fact, the latter translates the multidimensional character of the social protection systems and requires the development of new instruments. The big challenge awaiting us is the task of creating quality statistical instruments fairly quickly. New approaches must also be developed including, for example, micro-simulations and calculations of social allowance replacement rates.
3. SPC strengthening also requires working in a more integrated way with the other committees essential to the success of EU2020, both in the social field itself (with EMCO) and in the other fields, primarily ECOFIN. In this respect, it was with great pleasure that we all noted yesterday the clear commitment made by the SPC, EMCO and EPC chairs to improve their collaboration.
This morning, at the Belgian Council of Ministers, several of us were surprised by a letter from a Commissioner, whose name I will not mention, requesting that ECOFIN take ownership of the pension debate, salary policy and structural reform of the labour market!
4. What I’ve just outlined is, to a certain extent, the new architecture of the MOC applied to the social governance of the EU2020 strategy. Based on experience acquired over the past 10 years while developing mutual training and monitoring instruments, it must now shift into a higher gear by becoming more focused on recommendations and on assessing progress made. It will have to do so by bringing together the various stakeholders. Its work must also be made more visible.
5. My goal is to have the method accepted at the two EPSCO Councils that will be held during the Belgian Presidency next October 21st and December 6th. In order to continue the dynamic initiated at the informal EPSCO Council of July, a Trio declaration will be finalised immediately after this Conference. In some respects, as Bart Vanhercke has suggested, this will be a follow-up of the La Hulpe consensus.
- The European Parliament also has an important part to play in promoting the social dimension of the EU2020 strategy. It already demonstrated this last week when it brought its full weight to bear on the adoption of the integrated guidelines. As co-decider in this matter, the European Parliament will also have to work on assessing the process and on the possibility of making recommendations. The European Parliament can play the part of motivator for the other European institutions as it has in the past…
As I've mentioned, the Treaty of Lisbon opens new areas in the social field, in particular, via the implementation of Article 9 of the Treaty. Many of the speakers have emphasised the added value of this horizontal social clause for the integration of the various policies, notably thanks to the generalisation and greater visibility of the Commission’s social impact assessments. I was very receptive to the request for participation and the rendering of accounts rightfully demanded by civil society.
The Treaty of Lisbon has also integrated the Charter of Fundamental Rights in primary European law which should also give greater weight to the social goals the Commission might propose.
Lastly, as I stated last week at the social protection conference in Liege, we must continue to work so that the social field can become fully involved – including at the social partner level – in the new macroeconomic governance and, in particular, the new European Semester so that the policies of the Member States cannot come under the umbrella of budgetary imperatives that would be contrary to the well-being of citizens.
Ladies, Gentlemen,
Faced with the new challenges created by the EU2020 strategy, the social field must equip itself with governance and means in line with the new opportunities. Both the Member States and the Commission are well aware of this.
The challenges are equal to the expectations of our citizens for a Social Europe.
Let's be equal to the challenge!
Thank you for your attention and for the remarkable work you did throughout this conference.
Laurette Onkelinx
