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On November 21, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution concerning the Social Dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Prior to the adoption of the Resolution a group of civil society organisations, including Social Platform, wrote a letter to the MEPs asking them to vote in favour of the proposal put forward by the Parliament's Committee for Employment and Social Affairs. By doing this, the EP would send a strong political message to the Heads of State and Government ahead of their Council meeting in December, where they will discuss how to proceed with the EMU's social dimension through the 2014 European Semester. However, whereas the Resolution was adopted as such, the final version is not as ambitious as it could have been.

The European Parliament welcomes by this Resolution the European Commission's Communication of October 2 on Strengthening the social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union and formulates related recommendations to the Commission and the European Council. The Parliament however believes that "more specific proposals are needed to ensure that economic governance respects the social dimension". The Council is therefore asked to define an EU social protection floor in view of promotiong upward social convergence and social progress. In the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy, the Commission is asked to monitor member states compliance with regard to the poverty reduction and employment targets of the strategy.

The finally adopted Resolution is however, less ambitious than the proposal of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee. An explicit request to the Commission and member states for structured involvement of civil society organisations, next to the social partners, in economic governance and the European Semester in particular, was deleted. The invitation to the Council in December to define concrete steps in terms of building a social pillar for the EMU together with the Parliament, was also strongly watered down.

Because of the lack of ambition, the European Greens/EFA abstained from the vote. S&D also would have prefered a more ambitious Resolution, but voted in favour of the final text as they consider it will give the Parliament a mandate to fight for the social dimension of the EMU and EU.

2013-11-25