On August 20, the European Commission released a communication on “Social Protection in European Union Development Cooperation.” The text points out the key role that social protection can play…outside the EU.

This communication follows on the 2010 European Development Report and a consultation launched by the Commission in 2011, both of which “confirmed the relevance and timeliness of developing a policy framework for future EU support to social protection.” Indeed, the communication considers that social protection can make an essential contribution to development by reducing poverty, promoting inclusive growth, and supporting stability and social cohesion in the different countries.

The communication praises social protection for its numerous effects promoting inclusive development, such as increased access to public services (and thus to healthcare, education, etc.), risk management and income stabilization, as well as its role as a macroeconomic stabilizer and its contribution to reducing inequality, strengthening the compact between citizens and the state and providing intergenerational equity. Today, only some 20% of the working-age population of the world has access to comprehensive social protection. The challenge is to make protection available to a broader portion of the population.

The communication details a number of ways development cooperation could support social protection. It commends the Social Protection Floors (SPF) Initiative, developed under ILO leadership, emphasizing that “the concept of SPFs could provide a well defined basis on which to build coordinated and, where possible, joint EU support for social protection with partner countries which decide to develop them.”

A mere few lines are devoted to social protection in the European Union, “at the heart of the European social model,” however “largely the responsibility of individual Member States.” The communication addresses the economic difficulties confronting these systems in Europe and raising questions as to their accessibility and efficiency. In response to these issues, the text simply includes a brief reference to the “Europe 2020” Strategy and the European Semester as solutions for delivering “high levels of social protection at lower cost.”