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Social Platform calls on European Commission to invest in ambitious and integrated social policies

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GetMediaBytesSocial policies need to be at the forefront of European Commission efforts to alleviate poverty and improve social inclusion, claimed Heather Roy, president of Social Platform, at the Commission’s annual meeting on poverty in the EU. Speaking at the European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion (EPAP) in Brussels (20 November), Roy warned the Commission against blindly pursuing modernization of social protection schemes without investing in their adequacy and accessibility.

“We know that there are problems, both with the take-up and efficiency of social protection in some member states”, explained Ms Roy: “We should consider re-engineering social protection schemes to ensure that they reach their target groups. This re-engineering is about structural change, and it is about investment in social protection.”

Roy responded to remarks made by Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility Commissioner Marianne Thyssen, who highlighted that the main objective of the new Commission is job creation; the Commission will outline its plans at the end of the year in the €300 billion Jobs, Investment and Growth Package announced by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in July. Welcoming the Commission’s commitment to the package, Roy insisted that it has to include a strong social investment pillar.

With in-work poverty rising in Europe, she voiced concerns that the Commission’s tunnel-vision on the creation of jobs will lead to the impression that any job is better than no job at all. According to Roy, the new Commission should be focusing on creating quality, accessible work and on ensuring investment in ambitious and integrated social policies that enable people to not just survive, but to live in dignity and participate in society throughout their lives.

Social Platform welcomes the commitment of Commissioner Thyssen to preserving the European Social Model as the EU's most important heritage, and will discuss these issues further with Thyssen in early 2015.

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