Van Rompuy: 'Vooruitgang in verbetering sociale dimensie Economische en Monetaire Unie' (en)

EUROPEAN COUNCIL THE PRESIDT

Brussels, 10 October 2013 EUCO

PRESSE 410 PRPCE 179

"Progress towards an enhanced social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union" speech by President Herman Van Rompuy i at the conference on restoring socio-economic convergence in Europe

Let me start with a personal message. My thoughts, at this time, are for Wilfried Martens, one of my greatest predecessors as Prime Minister of Belgium and a great European statesman. I will remember his sense of duty, his strong European conviction, his social engagement. We worked together in different capacities during 45 years

I am pleased to be with you here today to open this conference organised by the Commission, under the stewardship of Commissioner Andor

After the crisis we have experienced, and given the social situation in Europe, it is essential to think through the social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union. But let me also state from the start that the ultimate aim of all our endeavours of the last four years to stabilise the eurozone i is precisely employment and economic growth. Stability, fiscal consolidation, reforms are not an aim in themselves but instruments to create well-being and jobs. Our objective is in essence social. Employment is the social dimension "par excellence"

I am pleased to see that European institutions - the Commission but also the European Economic and Social Committee - reach out further in a broad process of consultations with academics, civil society and the public at large to advance this very important agenda

In the past year, Europe has deployed every effort to restore financial stability and stabilize its economy. Financial fragmentation has abated and financial stress has declined, while European economies are slowly rebalancing. As a result, there are now small but encouraging economic green shoots. They allow us to finally see an economic recovery on the horizon

Yet employment remains weak and uneven and the social situation is precarious in a number of countries, with a rise in poverty, inequality or even access to basic healthcare. We cannot be naive and simply wait for a slow trickle down from growth to jobs and from jobs to overall improvements in social conditions. Growth is a necessary, overwhelmingly important condition for job creation, but not a sufficient one. Likewise, improving social welfare overall requires employment everywhere - but there again, jobs are a necessary but not a sufficient condition

European and global comparisons show that there are countries with low unemployment levels and worrying social situations in some parts of the population, and reciprocally poor countries that mobilise their effort and energy to achieve progress in health or education. In reality, none of this "trickling down" is entirely automatic, and the time-lags between growth and jobs are slow by nature without resolute policy action, with immediate impact

This is precisely why we have been working hard, and still are working hard, to ensure a job-rich recovery with a number of initiatives mobilising European resources (like the European Social Fund and the Youth Employment Initiative) along national ones. We cannot wait until robust growth returns. That's why we urged the member states to take measures with an immediate impact on youth unemployment. The €8 billion in the EU budget can facilitate those actions

But we remain conscious that our social objectives extend well beyond employment and the strength of our labour markets. Our founding treaty reminds us not only to pursue a high level of employment, but also of guaranteeing adequate social protection, of combating social exclusion and of ensuring a high level of education, training and protection of human health. This is the global comparative advantage of the European Union and it needs to be preserved. Not in a defensive way, but by ever adapting to a changing world

But living up to these objectives requires efforts. The goals set by the Europe 2020 strategy allow to focus the minds and set common objectives, including in the social field. But while we may set ourselves common targets, on the whole the responsibilities for meeting them remain national, and the coordination mechanisms for achieving them remain insufficient

The crisis of the last three years has revealed the depth of our economic and financial interdependence. In response, we have significantly enhanced economic governance and improved policy coordination. We can draw inspiration from the progress made in those fields to improve how we deal with social matters too. The "social dimension" communication presented by the European Commission last week is a clear step in this direction. It recognizes our social interdependence, it highlights the risks posed by social divergences and aims at identifying spillovers between Member States. Indeed, when social distress looms - impacting social cohesion, migration, public health or public support for the EU -, we are all indirectly concerned

EUCO

Before 2010, monitoring macroeconomic imbalances in our Member States was not considered a priority. We did not have the tools. We paid a high price for this benign neglect and are repairing it now. We cannot lose time in starting to address social divergence and expand the monitoring and the coordination of our social policies

The European Council is well aware both of the social situation across the Union and of the risks it poses. This is why in June, it has already endorsed the principle of a scoreboard of employment and social indicators for the Economic and Monetary Union

In October, we need to go a step further, building on the Social Dimension communication of the European Commission, and make concrete progress on three fronts:

• • 

  First, the monitoring of the social and employment situation in Member States, where analytical tools will make the European Semester more comprehensive

• • 

  Second, ensuring that our procedures and our policy coordination exercise is truly used as a basis for improving the coordination of economic, employment and social policies

• • 

  Finally, expanding social dialogue both at the national and the European level to ensure a widely shared diagnosis with social partners and a stronger ownership of the conclusions of the European Semester

These are important steps to deal with the current situation and improve the medium term outlook

But I understand that your conference also intends to look at long-term objectives for the monetary union, building on some of the proposals that I, along with President Barroso, President Draghi i and President Juncker i, presented to the European Council last December. I can only welcome such initiatives. Some of the ideas we had presented, for instance on automatic stabilisation or on a common unemployment insurance scheme, were bold but early, and require more intellectual groundwork before coming to fruition and leading to a political consensus. The expertise of the people gathered here for the next days is immense and precious, and I am pleased that you are taking this work forward. I look forward to your conclusions, and I wish you a great conference

EUCO