Strenger optreden en bezuinigingen op de begroting zijn slechts een deel van de van de oplossing, zegt EESC (en)

At its plenary session, the EESC discussed the social dimension of the crisis and called for a necessary complement to macro-economic policies aimed at getting Europe out of the predicament.

"The EESC made it clear that the current economic crisis management should not limit itself to austerity plans and deficit cuts but extend to preserving social capital, which is what generates Europe's wealth", said EESC President, Mario Sepi opening the debate on the Biennial Conference staged by the EESC in cooperation with the Tuscany region and held in Florence from 20 to 22 May. The main message of the conference was the demand for the launch of a broad consultation on education as a tool for combating poverty and exclusion. Investment in education and innovative educational approaches were singled out as crucial in overcoming poverty.

During the debate it was highlighted that the conference had been "a showcase for participatory democracy in action" where civil society organisations shared hands-on experience and engaged in a direct dialogue with decision-makers, prompting them to act in priority areas. This method was praised for its potential to re-launch European integration.

Concerning concrete measures, EESC Members insisted on fostering corporate social responsibility and bridging the gap between the educational system and the labour market by improving the quality of education in Member States. With reference to the "Europe 2020 Strategy" for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the importance of inscribing quantitative targets for education (lowering the number of school drop-outs) and poverty (reducing a proportion of people living in poverty) was underlined. Society would regard this as a strong signal of political commitment.

In a similar vein, the need to increase the number of quantitative binding targets was also voiced in the EESC's opinion on employment guidelines, adopted at its May plenary session. "We fear that the text as it stands now, with its vague wordings, would only have limited influence on Member States", said the rapporteur Wolfgang Greif (Employees, Austria). The EESC fretted that the key objectives of the EU - such as a 75% employment rate, a maximum rate of school drop-outs of 10% and a reduction in Europeans living in poverty by 20 millions - are not sufficient in guiding national policies. Additional targets should be introduced as a means of measuring progress.

The EESC criticized the Commission for its lack of ambition exemplified by deleting the goal of full employment that has figured in former guidelines and wants more focus on job creation policies. "We need a balanced mix that combines supply-oriented and demand-oriented economic policies and we do not see this in the Commission's guidelines", added Mr Greif.

Turning to the procedure, the EESC criticized the Commission for setting too tight a deadline for adopting the guidelines, which in effect makes it impossible to have an adequate consultation with civil society and national parliaments.

The full text of the report will soon be available in all EU languages on:

https://toad.eesc.europa.eu/AgendaDocuments.aspx?pmi=1bFCAF48HsQ=

For more details on the opinions, please contact the rapporteurs:

http://memberspage.eesc.europa.eu/Result.aspx

Or send an email to torben.bachnielsen@eesc.europa.eu