News

At the EPSCO Council meeting of June 20 and 21, European ministers for employment and social affairs discussed the Commission’s Social Investment Package (SIP) and the 2013 Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) formulating recommendations for the European Council meeting of June 27.

In view of this meeting, we wrote a letter to the ministers, calling on them to adopt concrete actions for a much needed re-balancing of financial and economic policies with social policies both at EU and member state level.
Looking at the CSRs and the 2013 European Semester in general, the ministers found there has been some progress, but that there is still room for improvement. In line with what we called for they stressed the importance of the involvement of social partners and civil society in the CSRs process. A comprehensive and balanced policy mix is said to be required to answer the challenges of restoring competitiveness and controlling public expenditure in the context of high unemployment and rising poverty and inequalities. It was stated clearly that structural reforms and adjustments need to be implemented with great care in order not to damage other goals and to maintain social acceptability.

The EPSCO Council also adopted specific conclusions on the SIP. The Council stated that social investment can reinforce the social protection function of social policies, which in our view reflects how these are two interconnected and mutually reinforcing pillars of a comprehensive social welfare model. When reforming social protection systems and when designing and implementing social investment approaches, the ministers acknowledged again the importance of involving stakeholders such as social partners and civil society organisations in such a process, through their specific experience.

We hope the Heads of State and Government will take these elements into account in their discussions at the European June Council.

Read our full letter to the Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs