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At Social Platform we have been advocating for rights-based EU social standards for the last two years and we have been engaging with decision makers and stakeholders giving our inputs and comments on the proposed European Pillar of Social Rights since the very beginning.

We believe that discussions on its content and implementation should go hand in hand if we want the pillar to produce the necessary paradigm shift and mark a difference from other great past initiatives launched in the social field, which did not bring the promised results.

That is why, on 15 June, we organized our event on the pillar, gathering exceptional expertise to discuss its potential and pitfalls, focusing both on its design and on concrete implementation tools.

Two panel discussions followed the introductory remarks of our President, Jana Hainsworth. The first one, hosted by Freek Spinnewijn, Director of our member FEANTSA, featured Maria João Rodrigues (Member of the European Parliament for S&D and EP rapporteur on the Pillar), Terry Reintke (Member of the European Parliament for Greens/EFA), Esther Lynch (Confederal Secretary for the European Trade Union Organization), Valeria Ronzitti (General Secretary of the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services) and Maxime Cerutti (Director for Social Affairs at Businesseurope).

The second one, hosted by Heather Roy, Secretary General of our member Eurodiaconia, featured Allan Larsson (Commission’s Special Adviser on the European Pillar of Social Rights), Enrico Giovannini (Former Italian Minister of Labour), Claire Courteille (Director of ILO-Brussels), Tom Bevers (chair of the Employment Committee) and Rudi Van Dam (chair of the Social Protection Committee Indicators Subgroup).

Different views emerged during what was a genuine debate. Some speakers stressed the importance of employment, skills and competitiveness while others focused more on social safeguards – highlighting that not all social problems can be solved through employment – and on the need to build resilient communities which ensure social sustainability.

One thing that participants agreed on was that the pillar should go beyond a mere declaration of existing rights and ensure the much needed policy change to reverse current worrying socio-economic trends – while real GDP grew 2% in the euro area from 2007 to 2014, the disposable income of household decreased of 5% over the same period. For this, we need a pillar that is binding, sustainable and tangible.

On this, there were some clear alignments: in stressing that the pillar should have a strong focus on social protection; in indicating the key role that a reinforced semester should play in its implementation – notably through the use of benchmarking to support Member States’ social and economic progression – and also on some specific critical areas to be covered, such as wages and minimum income.

Interesting new ideas and proposals were launched including that of a resilience guarantee and that of budgetary flexibility for social investment, starting from education and investment in human capital.

All in all, it was a great opportunity to start a public, transparent and meaningful dialogue between key decision makers and relevant stakeholders. Drawing on this and on our members’ expertise, we will continue our work on the pillar to ensure that it will produce tangible results for people in Europe.

For more information read our position on EU social standards and check out our event hashtag #BuildingSocialEU on Twitter.