Reactions to the Commission’s Report and proposals for the December Council Roshan Di Puppo, Director of the Social Platform EEB seminar “Reviewing the EU Sustainable Development Strategy” Brussels, 16 November 2007

Reactions to the Progress Report Not a strategy but a catalogue of existing policies - The report for the social objectives is incomplete and does not add anything to the work already done in the social field (i.e. open method of coordination on social protection and social inclusion) Multitude and unclear objectives makes it difficult to assess progress - Ideally a progress report should identify the objectives, assess progress made (or not), provides analysis and make recommendations Lack of recommendations - The December summit should have helped preparing the Spring Summit but the report does not make any link to the Lisbon strategy No evaluation of stakeholders’ participation ⇒ The report confirms the weakness of the EU SDS

What is the added value of the strategy? Promoting a new ethic in policy making? - “growth and jobs” as dominating dogma (i.e. “Lisbonisation” of all EU policies and of national policies) - A missed opportunity for the EU (internationally and nationally) Strengthening social objectives? - Risk of oversimplification of social challenges Stimulating an integrated approach? - Lack of transversal approach (i.e. services of general interest, public procurement) Mobilisation of actors to deliver on objectives? - Social actors are working less on sustainable development since Too little links and references to known processes (i.e. agenda 21, ecological footprint, index of human development, alternative to GDP etc…)

Social Platform's approach to the Dec/Spring Summit Content: The Lisbon strategy needs to be revised - Support of recent presidencies and of the EP - Campaign targeting heads of state and of government and starting in December - Annual conference “Social NGOs (getting) ready for the post-Lisbon” (Brussels 26 November 2007) Process: More works needs to be done on the governance side of European strategy - Soft policies coordination v.legislation - Democratic challenges: what role for parliaments? - Multi-level of governance: how to mobilise civil society at all levels? ⇒ Common campaign with ETUC and EEB ?