Europe’s social dimension has been completely ignored in recent years. Europe needs to show that it cares not only about the financial health of its member states but also about the day-to-day lives of its citizens. Europe is not only a lenders’ club but a community of values. This report focuses on those countries (Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus) that underwent the Troika's economic adjustment programmes and it offers an in-depth analysis of the social impact of the programmes.
The report calls upon the Troika and member states to put an end to these programmes as soon as possible and to create transparent crisis-management mechanisms through the EU institutions. The report asks the Commission, together with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Council of Europe, to study the employment and social consequences of these adjustment programmes, including corrective measures and incentives to improve the employment and social situation in these countries. It also calls for a social and employment recovery plan to repair the damage done to individuals, communities and industry, through measures such as improving credit for small businesses and an effective European Youth Guarantee.