EU social inclusion policy coordination in the EU 2020 strategy and the European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion Belgrade, 29 March 2011

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EU social inclusion policy coordination in the
EU 2020 strategy and the European Platform
Against Poverty and Social Exclusion Belgrade,
29 March 2011
EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG Employment, Social
Affairs and Inclusion Europe 2020 Social
policies Walter WOLF
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Open Method of Coordination (OMC)http//ec.eu
ropa.eu/social/main.jsp?langIdencatId750
EU Social Inclusion Process

• Definition of common Objectives and agreed
  indicators
• Reporting to national partners and to the EU (EC,
  Council, EP)
• Facilitating mutual learning and exchange of good
  practices
• EU and national poverty reduction targets

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• EU social protection and inclusion strategy
• Overarching Objectives

• social cohesion, equality between men and women
  and equal opportunities for all through adequate,
  accessible, financially sustainable, adaptable
  and efficient social protection systems and
  social inclusion policies.
• effective and mutual interaction between the
  Lisbon objectives of greater economic growth,
  more and better jobs and greater social cohesion,
  and with the EU's Sustainable Development
  Strategy.
• good governance, transparency and the
  involvement of stakeholders in the design,
  implementation and monitoring of policy

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• The 2006 Social Inclusion Objectives

Making a decisive impact on the eradication of
poverty and social exclusion by ensuring

• access for all to the resources, rights and
  services needed for participation in society,
  addressing exclusion, and fighting all forms of
  discrimination
• the active social inclusion of all, both by
  promoting participation in the labour market and
  by fighting poverty and exclusion
• that social inclusion policies are well
  coordinated and involve all levels of government
  and relevant actors, including people
  experiencing poverty, that they are efficient and
  effective and mainstreamed into all relevant
  public policies

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Europe 2020

• Smart, sustainable and inclusive growth
• http//ec.europa.eu/eu2020/index_en.htm
• 7 EU flagship initiatives
• Smart innovation, youth on the move digital
  agenda
• Sustainable resource efficiency, competitiveness
• Inclusive new skills and jobs, European
  Platform against Poverty

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Europe 2020 The 5 EU headline targets

• 75 of aged 20-64 employed
• 3 of EU's GDP invested in RD
• 20/20/20 climate /energy targets
• Early school leavers down to 10 and
• 30-34 with tertiary education up to 40
• Lifting 20 million people out of poverty and
  exclusion

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Despite economic and employment growth poverty
was not reduced before the crisis
At-risk-of poverty rates by groups, EU, 2005-2008

• In-work poverty also remained stable at 8.
• The risk of poverty of the unemployed is much
  higher and was even on the rise, highlighting
  concerns about the adequacy of safety nets.

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Possible gains in the efficiency of social
transfers
Source SILC 2008 ESSPROS 2007
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Gaps in social safety nets

• In some countries 80 of longer term unemployed
  do not get any benefits poverty rate for
  unemployed is 44

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Impact of the crisis

• Expected GDP growth for 2010 remains modest
• Unemployment gt 10 and expected to stay high
• Social expenditure (social protection, education
  and health) 70 of public expenditure in EU
• Social protection gt 40 of public expenditure
• Fiscal consolidation will affect social
  expenditure a challenge for social polices aimed
  at addressing poverty and exclusion
• The social situation is likely to further
  deteriorate and poverty is likely to increase.

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Poverty reduction Target

• EU level
• Lifting 20 millions people out of poverty or
  exclusion by 2020
• Based on 3 existing EU social inclusion
  indicators
• At-risk-of-poverty rate
• severe material deprivation
• people living in jobless households
• National level
• Member States are free to chose the most
  appropriate indicator to set their national
  target
• Member States to show how they will contribute to
  meeting the EU level target, in dialogue with the
  Commission

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Severe material deprivation

• Definition People whose living conditions are
  severely constrained by a lack of resources
• They experience at least 4 out of 9 deprivations
• people cannot afford i) to pay their rent or
  utility bills, ii) keep their home adequately
  warm, iii) face unexpected expenses, iv) eat
  meat, fish, or a protein equivalent every second
  day, v) a week of holiday away from home once a
  year, vi) a car, vii) a washing machine, viii) a
  colour TV, or ix) a telephone
• A non monetary measure of poverty
• Based on a single European threshold reflecting
  the disparities across the EU
• It concerns 8.3 of the EU population varying
  from 1 in LU to 33 in RO
• List of items to be reviewed in 2015

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People in workless households

• People (aged 0-59, not students) living in a
  family where no one works (or very little)
• Reflects long-term exclusion from the labour
  market, for individual workers and the family
  members who depend on them
• Strong link to child poverty and
  intergenerational transmission of poverty
• It concerns approx. 8 of the total EU
  population, varying from 4 to 14

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120 Million people at risk of poverty or
exclusion
80 Mio people at risk of poverty
Million people
People at-risk-of-poverty 80
Those materially deprived, not at-risk-of-poverty 22
Those living in a workless household, not at-risk-of-poverty, not deprived 18
Total People at-risk-of poverty or exclusion 120
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Country A focusing on raising living standards
People at risk of poverty
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Country B focusing on labour market inclusion
People at risk of poverty
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Next steps

• National targets
• Member States set their targets on the most
  appropriate indicators, given national
  circumstances and priorities
• Monitoring of the target at EU level
• Part of the monitoring of the 5 headline targets
• Eurostat website
• http//epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/porta
  l/europe_2020_indicators/headline_indicators

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Candidate Countries

• Expressed their interest to be associated to
  EU2020
• Could serve as source of inspiration
• Setting their own targets on the most appropriate
  indicators, given national circumstances and
  priorities
• The Joint Social Protection and Social Inclusion
  Memorandum Process will prepare CC for their full
  participation in EU2020 upon accession

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European Platform Against Poverty and Social
Exclusion

• Adopted on December 17, 2010
• To support concrete and innovative actions and a
  broader involvement of stakeholders
• Four main pillars
• Stepping-up Member States coordination to address
  common challenges
• Promoting effective partnerships and the social
  economy
• The fight against poverty beyond social policy
• Community Funding in support of social inclusion

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Five areas for action

• Delivering action across the policy spectrum
• Making EU funds deliver on the social inclusion
  and social cohesion objectives
• Developing an evidence-based approach to social
  innovation and reforms
• Promoting a partnership approach and the social
  economy
• Stepping up policy coordination between the
  Member States

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Delivering action across the policy spectrum (1)

• Enhancing access to employment and active
  inclusion of vulnerable groups
• Communication on active inclusion, 2012
• Making social protection and services more
  responsive to new social needs
• White paper on Pensions, 2011
• Further develop quality framework on social
  services
• Follow-up to communication on health inequalities
  
• Breaking the cycle of disadvantage
• Recommendation on early school leaving, 2011
• Recommendation on child poverty, 2012

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Delivering action across the policy spectrum (2)

• Promoting the inclusion of disadvantaged groups
• EU framework for national Roma Integration
  Strategies , 2011
• Follow-up to 2010 consensus conference on
  homelessness
• Tackling poverty beyond social policies
• Implementation of energy internal market
  legislation
• Combating digital divide (implementation of
  Digital Agenda)
• Legislative initiative on access to basic bank
  services, 2011
• Social impact assessment
• improving cooperation with EU institutions and
  Member States

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Making EU funds deliver on social inclusion
objectives

• 2010 Budget review stresses need to linking more
  directly structural funds and ESF to Europe 2020
  headline targets (incl. poverty target)
• Commission Proposals for next Multi-Annual
  Financial Framework (2011) will explore following
  options
• Enhancing ESF contribution to achievement of
  poverty target
• Devoting necessary resources to social inclusion
• Reinforcing support to disadvantaged groups
• Simplified access grant schemes for local
  partnerships
• Greater synergies and complementarities between
  EU funds

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Promoting evidence based social innovation

• Build on existing tools to guide structural
  reforms
• peer reviews, mutual learning
• Major social experimentation initiative
• Pooling resources from various EU funds
• Fine-tuning methodology
• Development of wider scale experiment
• Communication and dissemination

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Promoting partnership and the social economy

• Strengthening existing partnerships and involving
  new actors (social partners, regional/local
  authorities, NGOs)
• Voluntary guidelines on stakeholders involvement
  and participation of people experiencing poverty
  (2012)
• Regular dialogue on thematic priorities
• Harnessing the potential of the social economy
• Improving legal structures (e.g. foundations)
• Social Business Initiative (2011) to support
  socially innovative corporate projects (Single
  Market Act)

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Implementation and next steps

• Regular reporting within Europe 2020
• (e.g. Annual Growth Survey)
• Poverty Round Table to be transformed into an
  Annual Platform Convention
• Bring together key actors
• Take stock of progress made towards headline
  target
• Review implementation of activities
• Suggestions for future action
• Implementation reviewed in 2014

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• EUROPEAN COMMISSION
• DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal
  Opportunities

Further Information DG Employment, Social
Affairs and Equal OpportunitiesSocial
Inclusion website http//ec.europa.eu/social/main
.jsp?catId751langIden