REALM 28 February 2012 EUROPA 2020 – Flagship initiative “The European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion” Anne Degrand-Guillaud European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Europe 2020: Employment and Social Dimension 1. The EU wants to become a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy delivering high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion. 2. EU 2020 targets and process to get there 3. Flagships and concrete actions 4. Member State assessment These 5 elements are big components of the EU employment strategy Process Policy content Concrete actions Assessment Mutual learning

Europe 2020: 5 EU targets By 2020: 75 % employment rate (% of population aged 20-64 years) 3% investment in R&D (% of EU’s GDP) “20/20/20” climate/energy targets met (incl. 30% emissions reduction if conditions are right) < 10% early school leavers & min. 40% hold tertiary degree 20 million less people should be at risk of poverty Supported by 7 Flagship Initiatives These targets articulate where we want Europe to be in 2020 Highest political commitment has been given to these targets- heads of state or government 75 % employment rate (% of population aged 20-64 years) Requires effort equal to 2000-2008 job growth < 10% early school leavers & min. 40% hold tertiary degree Requires funding 20 million less people should be at risk of poverty Difficult as many will retire and intra-EU labour mobility will grow These targets are translated in 27 national targets. They will have to add up to EU level target.

Climate, energy and mobility Europe 2020: 7 flagship initiatives to make Long term-targets more operational Smart Growth Sustainable Growth Inclusive Growth Innovation « Innovation Union » Climate, energy and mobility « Resource efficient Europe » Employment and skills « An agenda for new skills and jobs” Education « Youth on the move » Competitiveness « An industrial policy for the globalisation era » Fighting poverty « European platform against poverty » Digital society « A digital agenda for Europe » Flagships which define CONCRETE ACTIONS

Impact of the crisis 23 million people unemployed in the EU today Economic recovery has come to a standstill, Rising polarisation between MS GDP likely to stagnate in the coming year, overall growth in the EU is forecast to be as low as 0.6% for 2012. Unemployment levels are likely to remain high at around 10% in 2012 and into 2013 Doubts over government debt and the financial sector Certain groups severely hit: young adults, single parents, Roma, migrants.

Impact of the crisis – unemployment rates, Nov. 2011

Impact of the crisis – young people Increased since spring and faster than among adults

What is the Commission doing? Youth on the Move: move for a degree, new job, training, own business; 400 000 young people to benefit from EU mobility programmes in 2011; European youth portal: advice and opportunities for young Europeans; EURES: information on jobs and learning opportunities; Europass CV and other practical tools for those who want to move;

Fighting poverty “The European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion”

Why a target on poverty in Europe 2020? 1 in 6 Europeans is at risk of poverty Most vulnerable hit hardest by the crisis Poverty and social exclusion already major concern in Europe beforehand European citizens are concerned about the social dimension of Europe.

Challenges and priorities of the flagship on poverty Multiple dimensions of poverty  action across the whole policy spectrum Address needs of groups particularly at risk, tackle severe exclusion and new vulnerabilities Break the cycle of disadvantage and step up prevention efforts Do better and more efficiently in times of budget constraints Strong focus on prevention, innovation, going beyond “traditional” social inclusion policies and making best use of EU funds A framework for action, building on 10 years of cooperation and finding new, participative approaches

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion (2009) At risk of poverty or social exclusion: 114 mio At risk of poverty: 80 mio Severe material deprivation: 40 mio Low work intensity: 34 mio Source: EU-SILC (2009)

80 million at risk of poverty: 1 in 6 Europeans At-risk-of-poverty rate: total, by age and by employment status; EU-27 The risk of poverty threshold is set at 60 % of the national median equivalised disposable income (after social transfers). Source: Eurostat (November 2011)

40 million face severe material deprivation Severely materially deprived persons; Percentage of total population, 2009 People are considered « severely materially deprived" if they experience at least 4 out of 9 deprivations: people cannot afford i) to pay their rent or utility bills, ii) keep their home adequately warm, iii) face unexpected expenses, iv) eat meat, fish, or a protein equivalent every second day, v) a week of holiday away from home once a year, vi) a car, vii) a washing machine, viii) a colour tv, or ix) a telephone. Source: Eurostat 2009

34 million live in jobless households Persons living in households with very low work intensity, 2009 People aged 0-59 living in households where adults work less than 20% of their total work potential during the past year. Source: Eurostat

What is the Commission doing? Continued work within Europe 2020: Assessment progress at EU level in the Annual Growth Survey 2012 MS monitoring and Country-specific Recommendations in June 2012 Benchmarking, awareness raising, policy innovation and experimentation Implementation reviewed in 2014

First European Semester 2012: Additional efforts are required for reaching the targets in the area of employment and poverty: EU GDP growth for 2012 remains modest (+0.6%); Unemployment >9%, staying high in 2012; Fiscal consolidation affecting social expenditure Low progress on the poverty reduction targets (12 million by 2020) The trends highlight a growing risk of poverty and marginalisation unless active measures are taken to counter them

Five areas for action Delivering action across the policy spectrum Making EU funds deliver on the social inclusion and social cohesion objectives Developing an evidence-based approach to social innovation and reforms Promoting a partnership approach and the social economy Stepping up policy coordination between the Member States

Example of concrete actions (1) Enhancing access to employment and active inclusion of vulnerable groups: Communication on active inclusion, 2012 Making social protection and services more responsive to new social needs: White paper on Pensions, 2011 Further develop quality framework on social services (sectoral approach on homelessness) Follow-up to communication on health inequalities Breaking the cycle of disadvantage: Recommendation on early school leaving, 2011 Recommendation on child poverty, 2012

Example of concrete actions (2) Strengthening existing partnerships and involving new actors (social partners, regional/local authorities, NGOs…): Voluntary guidelines on stakeholders’ involvement and participation of people experiencing poverty Regular dialogue on thematic priorities Harnessing the potential of the social economy: Improving legal structures (e.g. foundations) Social Business Initiative (2011) to support socially innovative corporate projects (Single Market Act)

European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion Europe 2020 strategy http://ec.europa.eu/eu2020 European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=961&langId=en Youth on the move http://ec.europa.eu/education/yom/com_en.pdf Social Europe http://www.facebook.com/#!/socialeurope

Thank you for your attention