Fuente: © European Union
http://europa.eu.int

EU: José Manuel Durão Barroso President of the European Commission"Shaping a modern social agenda for Europe"

Social Agenda Forum

/noticias.info/ Brussels, 6 May 2008

Chairman,

Secretary of State Romana Tomc,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me start by thanking all of you who have contributed to this Social Agenda Forum. Your expertise and experience on this matter are invaluable, and will help to shape an updated social agenda, which we intend to present before the Summer break. My thanks too, of course, to my colleague Vladimir Spidla and his services for having organised this important conference.

Developing effective modern policy responses requires a clear understanding of our changing social realities. That is why I have attached so much emphasis on an extensive and inclusive reflection process. This began with the adoption of our Citizens' Agenda in 2006, and the launch of the public consultation on Europe's social reality in early 2007. We concluded the consultation process last November by setting out, in our 'Social Vision', first orientations for a modern policy response. All of this has been done after having listened carefully to you, the stakeholders.

I would like to close the Forum today by highlighting some of the conclusions that I draw from this consultation, and outlining how we will proceed in developing our policy response.

The consultation underlined the rapid pace of social change – new family and working patterns, changing values, weakening bonds between generations, new job opportunities, demands for new skills, mobility and diversity. It highlighted many positive developments: increasing prosperity; unprecedented opportunities; more choice; innovative and open societies; improved living conditions, Europeans living longer, healthier lives. But starker realities also came to the fore - too many living in poverty (especially youth but also older people); despite the success of the Lisbon Strategy, pockets of unemployment still persist; too many early school leavers; increasing social isolation and old age dependency; increasing incidence of diseases of affluence (obesity, stress).

The consultation has been very useful in clarifying our thinking about the renewal of social policies.

It has shown that there is a need to place the goals of our social policies –justice, social cohesion, equal opportunity, greater equity – in today's world of globalisation, and see if we need to adjust the way we pursue them. When the EU was founded, the accepted way to meet these goals was by providing social insurance to cope with the risks of an industrial society which was largely dominated by one-breadwinner households with strong family support structures.

The social reality check has shown that some of these approaches are no longer attuned to modern realities: today child poverty is as much of an issue as poverty in old age; generational inequalities mean that young people do not have access to the secure jobs, housing and generous pensions that their parents enjoy; there are persistent pockets of labour market inactivity (the unskilled, early retirees, school drop-outs, those on long term sickness or invalidity benefits); universal services have not always guaranteed equity. Old models have had some unforeseen impacts: they have not always delivered the fair society that was hoped.

The social reality stocktaking has shown that a broader, more integrated approach is needed – a cross cutting approach, covering aspects of employment, health, mobility, integration, education, and non-discrimination.

Key elements of such an approach were already proposed in the vision that we adopted in November. We highlighted three key principles - opportunities, access and solidarity – that would guide us in dealing with the changing social realities.

It identified investment as the key to opening opportunities and providing access: investment in youth (to improve skills, reduce the numbers of school dropouts), in career opportunities (e.g. flexicurity), in longer and healthier lives, in gender equality, inclusion and non-discrimination, in mobility and integration, in culture, participation and dialogue.

The vision went on to say that while Member States will remain firmly in charge in most areas, the EU has an important role to play – in setting policy frameworks, in legislating where this is appropriate, in bringing people together in the exchange of best practice and in catalysing innovative approaches. There are a range of tools in the box – legal approaches, open method of coordination, structural funding and so on. The challenge is to use the tools so as to deliver results.

What does this mean now in practical terms?

I remain firmly convinced that our biggest contribution to the well being of our citizens is made by fostering growth and jobs. I believe – and the facts support me in this – that the best escape route from poverty is a job. A healthy economy is the foundation for prosperity. But this can only be achieved by putting forward-looking structural policies in place – policies that are not constrained by being put in an economic or a social "box", but which merge the two in an integrated way.

We need to show that we are capable of going beyond the outdated juxtaposition of "economic versus social", delivering integrated policies that respond to the complex and interlinked challenges that we face in today's world. Our modern, forward looking agenda has to be multi-dimensional - cutting across traditional borders of economic and social.

We are doing just that. The Lisbon Strategy is producing results – increased job creation, decreasing unemployment, improving productivity. The Spring Economic Forecast of last week has just confirmed that in spite of the current external headwinds we can expect the creation of 3 million new jobs in 2008 and 2009 - on top of the 7½ million already created in 2006 and 2007. Through Lisbon, we are taking advantage of globalisation, its opportunities, its benefits.

The Europe of the future - the Europe that we are building through the Lisbon reforms - is based on skills, knowledge and creativity. Its success depends on people. It is essential that we equip our people to take advantage of opportunities – to realise their potential. We also need to take care of and protect those who are not able to do so.

That is why we want to reinforce and complement the Lisbon Strategy with a renewed Social Agenda – an agenda that is modern, adapted to today's rapidly changing social realities. An agenda that empowers and equips Europeans for our globalising world.

The agenda will be based on our shared European values. Preserving these values means that - even under the complex conditions of a globalising world - every European must have the best life chances. The way to exploit those life chances is by providing opportunities and access; and by demonstrating solidarity to those individuals and regions who are facing difficulties in adjusting to changing realities. Not everyone has the same potential to take advantage of opportunities. Patterns of achievement and need of support will differ from person to person and over time. For example, the knowledge economy can seem threatening to those with low skills and low educational aspirations. The disappearance of some jobs poses risk of unemployment and exclusion for others. People must be supported to handle change - helped and protected when it is difficult to adjust.

How can we generate opportunities and provide access?

We need to look at policies in the round and from a life cycle perspective. We need to focus in particular on the problems of the young – and solve problems such as high youth unemployment, too many early school-leavers, and the relative job insecurity and wage inequality that younger people experience today. We need to design our policies to make sure that all children are equipped with an education that gives them a fair chance in today's world. We need to encourage children to reach different and higher levels of qualification and skills than their parents achieved. We need to improve the rather bleak prospects for the six million young people across Europe who drop out of education early each year.

We are also looking at the implications of our ageing society in all its aspects – from supporting research into how IT can improve the life of older people, to assessing what health care and pension reforms are needed to ensure the sustainability of public financing.

Pursuing opportunity means systematically attacking discrimination of all kinds. We already have ambitious EU anti-discrimination laws. We need to make sure that they are effectively applied and respected.

There is a lively debate on the need for further anti-discrimination legislation at European level. Let's be clear: this debate is not about whether to combat discrimination; it is about how to do so most effectively. Is it more effective to tackle discrimination problem by problem? Or is a horizontal approach needed? We need to deepen our analysis before coming to any decisions on this. Whatever choice we make in the coming weeks will be based on sound analysis – it will look carefully at all forms of discrimination in all their aspects and at subsidiarity and proportionality considerations. Most importantly it will be designed in a way that will deliver real benefits to those in need.

We are concerned about the particular difficulties that the Roma population face, and will report on that soon. We are committed to gender equality and will explore ways to tackle gender pay gaps and facilitate a better conciliation of private and professional life.

The principle of opportunity means nothing unless the principle of access is a reality. Improved access to education is one of the key means by which inequality in starting points can be overcome. But, in this rapidly changing world, we need to create access to opportunities at different points in people's lives – this means a commitment to lifelong learning and ongoing renewal of skills. We will be coming forward with initiatives on skills and on supporting the Member States in their efforts to modernise their education systems. Languages are an important part of the skills set required in Europe and we will set out our ideas on multilingualism in the coming months.

And everyone must have access to universal services such as health care.

We are taking a number of initiatives in the area of health. We are looking at patient safety, the quality of health services and the broad issue of health inequalities. We will be coming forward before the Summer break with a proposal on patients' rights in cross-border health care. This will provide clarity on patients' rights and a framework for cooperation in full respect of Member states capacity to decide on their national health systems and in full consideration of the sustainability of their financing. We are also looking at ways to facilitate patients' and professionals' mobility, by making recommendations on cross-border interoperability of electronic health records.

We need to pay particular attention to the challenges posed by immigration. Immigration is an important part of Europe's changing social reality and will play a key role in increasing the EU's growth potential and hence Europe's prosperity. It can help Europe deal with labour shortages and skill gaps. It can enhance our competitiveness. To realise this potential, immigration has to be accompanied by efforts to facilitate successful integration. Integration poses a mix of complex challenges and requires efforts in different sectors such as health, housing and education. A successful immigration strategy has to go hand in hand with a modern social agenda which places a high priority on integration.

That is why we will present a new approach to the European Common Immigration Policy before summer break. It will prepare the ground for the development of a common immigration policy, allowing immigration to be managed in a more efficient way. Based on a set of policy principles, actions will be prepared in partnership between Member States and the Commission. Progress will be monitored on a regular basis.

But our European societies are about more than just opportunity and access. Our social systems have been shaped by a fundamental commitment to solidarity. The Lisbon Strategy will help maintain this solidarity by ensuring that our social systems adapt as societies change.

Solidarity - between the better off and the less well off, between generations, between regions and between wealthier and less wealthy Member States – is widely accepted in Europe. We should be crystal clear that solidarity is part of how European society works.

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund is a clear expression of this solidarity. It provides direct support for the rapid reintegration of workers facing redundancy. It has already intervened effectively in several Member States. We will soon issue a report on the globalisation fund – how it is working. We will assess if it needs to be adapted in any way. Also, in our reflections on EU financing in the future, we are looking at whether there are other avenues available to help those facing some of the more negative side-effects of change.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Commission will present the new social agenda before the Summer break.

This agenda will reflect the comprehensive discussion and reflection process we are concluding today. It will be an integrated policy response to the current social reality as part of the Lisbon Strategy, and it will be grounded on the principles of opportunity, access and solidarity.

With our citizens' agenda 2006, and work undertaken since then to make it a reality, this Commission has shown its commitment to put citizens first in Europe.

Our "Social Agenda for Opportunity, Access and Solidarity" will ensure that European values remain at the core of our policies and are an integral part of our response to globalisation. I see it as an essential contribution to our wider efforts to make the Union an economically strong, socially responsible and safe place to be. The Lisbon Treaty will strengthen our ability to shape such a Union.

It goes without saying that such a comprehensive agenda cannot be delivered by Brussels alone. It will need commitment and action from the national, regional and local levels as well. It will need commitment from important stakeholders such as you. I hope that the Commission's agenda will spark a new era in our partnership to deliver the right social framework for Europe.

Thank you. notas_de_prensa_archivo