EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Europe 2020: Social policies Walter WOLF EU social inclusion policy coordination in the EU 2020 strategy and the European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion Belgrade, 29 March 2011 Thanks I very much welcome the opportunity to address your ... to share with you some ideas about the European Union’s approach to tackling poverty and social exclusion.

EU Social Inclusion Process ‘Open Method of Coordination’ (OMC) http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=750 Definition of common Objectives and agreed indicators Reporting to national partners and to the EU (EC, Council, EP) Facilitating mutual learning and exchange of good practices EU and national poverty reduction targets

EU social protection and inclusion strategy Overarching Objectives social cohesion, equality between men and women and equal opportunities for all through adequate, accessible, financially sustainable, adaptable and efficient social protection systems and social inclusion policies. effective and mutual interaction between the Lisbon objectives of greater economic growth, more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, and with the EU's Sustainable Development Strategy. good governance, transparency and the involvement of stakeholders in the design, implementation and monitoring of policy

The 2006 Social Inclusion Objectives Making a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty and social exclusion by ensuring: access for all to the resources, rights and services needed for participation in society, addressing exclusion, and fighting all forms of discrimination the active social inclusion of all, both by promoting participation in the labour market and by fighting poverty and exclusion that social inclusion policies are well coordinated and involve all levels of government and relevant actors, including people experiencing poverty, that they are efficient and effective and mainstreamed into all relevant public policies

Europe 2020 7 EU ’flagship initiatives’ ’Smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’ http://ec.europa.eu/eu2020/index_en.htm 7 EU ’flagship initiatives’ Smart: innovation, youth on the move digital agenda Sustainable: resource efficiency, competitiveness Inclusive: new skills and jobs, ’European Platform against Poverty’

Europe 2020 The 5 EU headline targets 75 % of aged 20-64 employed 3% of EU's GDP invested in R&D 20/20/20 climate /energy targets Early school leavers down to 10% and 30-34 with tertiary education up to 40% Lifting 20 million people out of poverty and exclusion

At-risk-of poverty rates by groups, EU, 2005-2008 Despite economic and employment growth poverty was not reduced before the crisis At-risk-of poverty rates by groups, EU, 2005-2008 In-work poverty also remained stable at 8%. The risk of poverty of the unemployed is much higher and was even on the rise, highlighting concerns about the adequacy of safety nets.

Possible gains in the efficiency of social transfers Source: SILC 2008 & ESSPROS 2007

Gaps in social safety nets In some countries 80% of longer term unemployed do not get any benefits poverty rate for unemployed is 44%

Impact of the crisis Expected GDP growth for 2010 remains modest Unemployment > 10% and expected to stay high Social expenditure (social protection, education and health) ~ 70% of public expenditure in EU Social protection > 40% of public expenditure Fiscal consolidation will affect social expenditure: a challenge for social polices aimed at addressing poverty and exclusion The social situation is likely to further deteriorate and poverty is likely to increase.

Poverty reduction Target EU level “Lifting 20 millions people out of poverty or exclusion by 2020” Based on 3 existing EU social inclusion indicators: At-risk-of-poverty rate severe material deprivation people living in jobless households National level Member States are free to chose the most appropriate indicator to set their national target Member States to show how they will contribute to meeting the EU level target, in dialogue with the Commission

Severe material deprivation Definition: People whose living conditions are severely constrained by a lack of resources: 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 A non monetary measure of poverty Based on a single European threshold – reflecting the disparities across the EU It concerns 8.3% of the EU population varying from 1% in LU to 33% in RO List of items to be reviewed in 2015

People in workless households People (aged 0-59, not students) living in a family where no one works (or very little) Reflects long-term exclusion from the labour market, for individual workers and the family members who depend on them Strong link to child poverty and intergenerational transmission of poverty It concerns approx. 8% of the total EU population, varying from 4% to 14%

120 Million people at risk of poverty or exclusion 40 Mio people materially deprived 80 Mio people at risk of poverty 40 Mio people in workless households Million people People at-risk-of-poverty 80 + Those materially deprived, not at-risk-of-poverty 22 + Those living in a workless household, not at-risk-of-poverty, not deprived 18 Total: People at-risk-of poverty or exclusion 120

Country A focusing on raising living standards People materially deprived People at risk of poverty People in workless households

Country B focusing on labour market inclusion People materially deprived People at risk of poverty people in workless households

Next steps National targets Monitoring of the target at EU level Member States set their targets on the most appropriate indicators, given national circumstances and priorities Monitoring of the target at EU level Part of the monitoring of the 5 headline targets Eurostat website http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/europe_2020_indicators/headline_indicators

Candidate Countries Expressed their interest to be associated to EU2020 Could serve as source of inspiration Setting their own targets on the most appropriate indicators, given national circumstances and priorities The Joint Social Protection and Social Inclusion Memorandum Process will prepare CC for their full participation in EU2020 upon accession

European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion Adopted on December 17, 2010 To support concrete and innovative actions and a broader involvement of stakeholders Four main pillars: Stepping-up Member States coordination to address common challenges Promoting effective partnerships and the social economy The fight against poverty beyond social policy Community Funding in support of social inclusion

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

Delivering action across the policy spectrum (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 Follow-up to communication on health inequalities Breaking the cycle of disadvantage Recommendation on early school leaving, 2011 Recommendation on child poverty, 2012

Delivering action across the policy spectrum (2) Promoting the inclusion of disadvantaged groups EU framework for national Roma Integration Strategies , 2011 Follow-up to 2010 consensus conference on homelessness Tackling poverty beyond social policies Implementation of energy internal market legislation Combating digital divide (implementation of Digital Agenda) Legislative initiative on access to basic bank services, 2011 Social impact assessment improving cooperation with EU institutions and Member States

Making EU funds deliver on social inclusion objectives 2010 Budget review stresses need to linking more directly structural funds and ESF to Europe 2020 headline targets (incl. poverty target) Commission Proposals for next Multi-Annual Financial Framework (2011) will explore following options: Enhancing ESF contribution to achievement of poverty target Devoting necessary resources to social inclusion Reinforcing support to disadvantaged groups Simplified access grant schemes for local partnerships Greater synergies and complementarities between EU funds

Promoting evidence based social innovation Build on existing tools to guide structural reforms peer reviews, mutual learning… Major social experimentation initiative Pooling resources from various EU funds Fine-tuning methodology Development of wider scale experiment Communication and dissemination

Promoting partnership and the social economy Strengthening existing partnerships and involving new actors (social partners, regional/local authorities, NGOs) Voluntary guidelines on stakeholders’ involvement and participation of people experiencing poverty (2012) 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)

Implementation and next steps Regular reporting within Europe 2020 (e.g. Annual Growth Survey) Poverty Round Table to be transformed into an Annual Platform Convention: Bring together key actors Take stock of progress made towards headline target Review implementation of activities Suggestions for future action Implementation reviewed in 2014

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Further Information DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities ‘Social Inclusion’ website http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=751&langId=en