Remarks by Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis at the press conference on the social policy orientation debate
Today, the Commission held an orientation debate on EU social policy and the main priorities of social policy for this mandate of the Commission.
The President's Political Guidelines make it clear that the social dimension has to be integrated in all our policies. As Europe's economy picks up, it cannot leave the most vulnerable behind.
First, on the economic context of this debate: we see that for a first time since the crisis, growth is strengthening, recovery is gradually accelerating. We expect economic growth to increase from 1.4% last year to 1.8 % this year and further accelerate to 2.1% next year.
This is also being translated into jobs. Last year, the number of people in work grew by 1% in the EU, which is the highest annual rate since 2008. Although decreasing, unemployment is still unacceptably high and remains one of our greatest concerns.
There are also clear disparities among Member States. The effects are more pronounced in those countries most affected by the crisis. Clearly, deep structural reforms have brought many economies back on track. Yet it takes time for economic growth to be translated into more jobs and a better quality of life.
Many countries most affected by the crisis have carried out bold, yet difficult, reforms and are starting to see the results. For example, take Spain, which after a long recession has returned to growth last year and is going to have economic growth of around 3% this year, which is substantially above the EU and euro area average. In fact, I will be leaving for in Spain tomorrow, to discuss with the Spanish authorities and social partners both economic and social developments in Spain.
Our response across the EU requires a mix of policies. And that is what we discussed in the Commission today. Since the crisis, the EU has strengthened economic coordination and governance, but still has to take social effects more into account. Social aspects should be incorporated into a broader range of our policies, and not treated in isolation.
The involvement of social partners- from trade unions to business at both EU and national level - is needed to ensure that reforms are properly designed and implemented. In fact, social partners should be consulted on a broader range of policies than in the past - from the Energy Union, to the Digital Single Market, for example. We do not intend to limit our consultations with social partners only to those issues that are directly related with the labour market.
In parallel, EU legislation has to be evaluated and modernised to reflect our evolving economies and societies. Much EU employment and social legislation dates back to the creation of the single market and recent enlargements. In the meantime, we have seen tremendous technological change, a more diversified workforce and new business models. This means that also our legislation needs to adapted to new realities.
Looking ahead, our society is ageing. Today, we have four people of working age for every person aged over 65. By 2060, it is estimated that there will be only two at people of working age for every one person of pensionable age. Demographic change will create unprecedented challenges to our economies and societies and put substantial pressure on budgetary and social systems. We will have to anticipate this trend now.
The final point I'd like to make is on EU financing. There are currently 86 billion euros available for 2014-2020 from the European Social Fund alone, for projects that help get people into jobs, together with the education and skills this requires. At least, 20% of this financing is earmarked specifically for social inclusion, and combatting poverty and discrimination.
We are encouraging Member States to make the best use of EU funding to help the most vulnerable also feel the positive effects of the economic recovery.
During today's discussion in the College, I would say there was broad support for the proposals we brought forward for our approach on social policy. The first concrete proposals will be submitted to the College already during the course of this year. I will now give the floor to Marianne, who will elaborate more on this concrete direction of work and on our proposals.
STATEMENT/15/5151
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