Ministers recognize they must confront poverty

Social Platform has welcomed the EPSCO Council’s request to member states to review and strengthen their efforts to reduce poverty, as it is an “essential EU commitment”, saying that "it is in line with our call on the EU to urgently prioritize and act on the social targets of Europe 2020".

On 10 March, employment and social policy ministers met at the EPSCO Council to discuss the 2014 European Semester and to exchange views on the progress regarding the Europe 2020 strategy.

While it has been said that the EU is gradually recovering from the economic crisis, the social crisis is still far from over.

“With one out of four people in Europe living in poverty, it is clear that we are still no-where near to reaching the Europe 2020 social objectives and this will not change if the focus stays on economic growth without ensuring it is sustainable as well as inclusive,” said Social Platform President Heather Roy. “To stop a further dismantling of social models in the EU we need well-designed policies to confront social challenges.”

To ensure the success of such social policies, member states should ensure that these are enabled, and not undermined, by economic and financial policies. It is therefore positive to see how the social ministers are pointing out how the impact of structural reforms needs to be assessed in order to take into account social and employment concerns and that more has to be done to ensure co-ordination among financial, economic and social priorities under the Europe 2020 Strategy.

“We urge the EU and its member states to use the outcome of the discussions and conclusions of this EPSCO Council as a basis for renewed action on the Europe 2020 social objectives and for bringing back a reinforced inclusive pillar to the strategy,” added Roy.

Read Social Platform’s letter to the ministers for employment and social affairs.

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