A few days before the Elections to the European Parliament Ipse asked three questions to the main groups of the European Parliament (EPP, S & D, ALDE, Greens / EFA and GUE / NGL). On the menu: the Social Dimension of Economic and Monetary Union, Free movement and social convergence and the Social Economy and Social Entrepreneurship. Socialists & Democrats (S & D) sent us the answers of the Group’s President Hannes Swoboda.

1)      Adding a social aspect to the Economic and Monetary Union

Ipse : In your opinion, what should be the role and impact of the EMU’s social pillar? What concrete measures (strengthening of social dialogue, social indicators, European unemployment insurance, European financial assistance, etc.) are required to create this pillar and what role can social protection play in this process? 

Hannes Swoboda : “We promote an alternative model geared towards growth, jobs and social justice in Europe. In order to achieve these goals, the European and Monetary Union and the economic governance processes must be based on a strong social pillar which guarantees a synthesis between both the economic and fiscal aspects and the social dimension. Our plans for a social pillar of the EMU include a detailed set of proposals on how the economic and monetary union can be transformed into an economic, monetary and social union. Particularly:

• A Social Progress Pact complementing the Stability and Growth Pact, including binding employment and social targets, a scoreboard of key employment and social indicators, policy benchmarks for the revised Employment Guidelines and an enforceable system of monitoring, “naming and shaming”, and incentives through the use of EU funds.

•  A Social Protocol to ensure at least the equal prominence of social rights and economic freedoms through the respect of article 9 and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, secondary legislation and a future Treaty revision.

• An Employment and Social Investment Programme

• Common Social Standards

• A strengthened European social dialogue

• A more balanced and democratic governance system in which the social dimension is fully integrated.

With regard to our demand for a Social Pact for Europe, it consists of the following elements, some of which require changes of the Treaty:

– an integrated active labour market policy

– a European Youth Guarantee

– decent public services

– a social protocol to protect fundamental social and labour rights

– the principle of equal pay and equal rights for work of equal value for all

– decent living wages for all

– a social protection floor

– 25% of cohesion funding for ESF

– social housing

– a social investment pact

– a new health and safety strategy

– restructuring”

2)    Greater social convergence?

Ipse: Must social and fiscal convergence in the EU be intensified to assuage the tensions that exist between North and South, East and West, as well as between the center and periphery of Europe, while promoting worker mobility? What are the specific priorities?

H.S.: “Free Movement of citizens and of workers is the core of EU citizenship and a pillar of the success of EU single market. To limit free movement would harm EU citizens and deprive them of a fundamental right. The real point is to do away with austerity and troikas, and to fight for a different growth policy and a different social policy in Europe promoting investment, cohesion and employment for all citizens in all Member States.

The European Union needs to complement the fiscal convergence with the establishment of an enforceable system of social convergence – containing decent and quality employment and labour standards – and a social coordination process to prevent and correct the negative consequences that major economic and social reforms are having on these standards, and therefore on the well-being of citizens.

This social convergence would benefit and facilitate worker mobility while at the same time it would drastically reduce social dumping. We want to fight for high social and labour standards for all workers in the EU. We want a thorough revision of the Directive on posted workers to guarantee that all workers in the EU enjoy full rights and decent living and working conditions. We want “equal pay for equal work at the same place”.”

3)      Development of social entrepreneurship and the social economy 

Ipse: How can the next European Parliament take full ownership of the issues of social entrepreneurship and development of the social economy so as to follow through with the proposals put forward in Strasbourg?

H.S.: “The social economy helps to fulfil the four main aims of EU employment policy: improving the ‘employability’ of the active population; promoting the entrepreneurial spirit, particularly by creating jobs at the local level; improving the ability of enterprises and their workers to adapt, notably by modernising the organisation of work; strengthening equal opportunities policy, particularly by developing public policies that enable conciliation between family life and work.

Social economy plays an essential role in the European economy, by combining profitability with solidarity, creating high-quality jobs, strengthening social, economic and regional cohesion, generating social capital, promoting active citizenship, solidarity and a type of economy with democratic values which puts people first, in addition to supporting sustainable development and social, environmental and technological innovation.

We believe that the social economy sector has an important contribution to make to building a more inclusive and cohesive European economy. We want to see the EU develop a more active dialogue with this sector on how to maximise its potential and we will push strongly for the implementation of the European Commission’s social investment agenda.”