This oral question is a response to the Social Investment Package presented by the European Commission on 20 February and is intended to send a strong signal from the European Parliament regarding the social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
A lack of effective social governance has resulted in increasing levels of social exclusion and inequality, with the burden of austerity falling hardest on public services and the most disadvantaged. Yet social and economic progress are interdependent. Europe's global competitiveness depends on its capacity to strengthen its social model.
Our vision for the EMU begins with a strong social aspect to its structure to guarantee economic and fiscal aspects are integrated with the social dimension. Our plans for a social pillar within the EMU include a detailed set of proposals on how economic and monetary union can be transformed into an economic, monetary and social union.