The Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament have set out a strong, ambitious progressive agenda to enhance the social dimension of the EU in a policy paper called "Progressive European social policy - Returning the focus to the people" – which was approved last night in Strasbourg.
"While Commission president Juncker talks about a "social triple-A for Europe" and his desire to become the "president of social dialogue", the social reality of millions of Europeans is characterised by unemployment, poverty and social exclusion. This situation is not tolerable for us. A non-social Europe betrays the founding objectives of the European Union", stressed S&D Euro MPs in their document.
The 17 page document includes proposals to strengthen the social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), measures to tackle youth and long-term unemployment as well as actions to protect workers' rights.
S&D Group spokesperson for employment and social affairs, Jutta Steinruck stated:
"It is time for a change. A strong social union, which returns the focus to the people, must become the basis for the cooperation between member states in this respect. It must include the respect of fundamental social rights, fair mobility and the improvement of living and working conditions; it must be directed towards the fight against unemployment, poverty, inequalities, social exclusion and wage and tax dumping; and it must promote the successful European social model consisting of strong social protection, quality public services and social dialogue."
S&D Group vice-president responsible for economic, monetary and social affairs Maria João Rodrigues added:
"We need to address these social problems with stronger instruments. This is why we need to complete the EMU, including its social dimension. We also need to make sure that the EU is committed to good social standards regarding access to education and training, action against unemployment, and basic working rights.
"This has been a weak pillar of the Commission's agenda so far. There is a clear risk that member states, particularly in the eurozone, will restart a race to the bottom in terms of social standards, in order to remain competitive, and try to outcompete each other in that way. This would bring more economic crisis, more social hardship - and we cannot accept this trend".
The full text, Progressive European Social policy, is available here
