Taking responsibility for dismissing social priorities
Yesterday, Portugal’s Vítor Gaspar resigned amid a prolonged recession that citizens have attributed largely to austerity measures that he helped enforce in accordance with the demands of the country’s international creditors.
On May 7, he was in Brussels as one of the keynote speakers at the European Commission’s conference on the Blueprint for a genuine Economic and Monetary Union. That conference did not raise the issue of the social dimension even once. The main focus was on growth and jobs.
Last Friday, the Heads of State made some conclusions to their summit. They endorsed the Country Specific Recommendations without debate, they emphasized the allocation of 6 billion euros to combat youth unemployment and they published seven lines on the social dimension of the EMU at the end of their conclusions:” “the social dimension of the EMU should be strengthened. As a first step, it is important to better monitor and take into account the social and labour market situation within EMU, notably by using appropriate social and employment indicators within the European semester. It is also important to ensure better coordination of employment and social policies, while fully respecting national competences. The role of the social partners and social dialogue, including at national level, is also key. The Commission will present a communication on the social dimension of the EMU shortly”.
Mr Vitor Gaspar was head of a team of advisors (Head of BEPA, Bureau or European Policy Adviser) to the President of the Commission, he sat in the ECOFIN Council meeting and led his country’s austerity measures. Pressure from the people, through a series of general strikes led by the trade unions and civil society organisations, have not given Mr Gaspar the possibility to wait for the Commission’s communication on the social dimension.
The social agenda of the EU cannot be treated as a side priority, it is, as the president of the Commission said already in September 2012, a social emergency.
Let’s engage !
Pierre Baussand – Director
