Editorial by Conny Reuter, SOLIDAR Secretary General

La Rentrée? No Time to Lose!

Brussels, 29th August 2014

It’s no longer exclusively a French cultural habit to pay tribute to the return to work and normal activity after the summer break. La rentrée – which means coming back – is the kick-start back into the realities of life after the summer holidays. The summer of 2014 has seen the development of conflicts which are of more than regional importance. The relentless series of events has left us breathless. In this particular theatre of war Ukraine has taken centre stage, in a plot where national borders and the sovereignty of a state are no longer respected, while Russia has chosen its role by playing with fire.

What can the international community do besides issuing resolutions that aren’t respected or implemented? What is our system of international (and European) institutions and alliances worth if no common answer can be found? As we prepare to celebrate International anti-War day this Monday 1 September 2014, we need clarification on the role of the new European executive. More than that, we need solid solutions and exit strategies. Therefore, the Council should appoint a High Representative, which shouldn’t be a matter of age, but a matter of support by the Member States. Our common values – and common sense – led to the foundation of the UN and European institutions after the 2nd World War. They are now more than ever challenged to react, act and impact.

Beyond the armed conflicts, behind the scenes the neo-liberals and advocates of unlimited free trade are pushing their agenda for the liberalisation of all kinds of services. If they experience resistance around the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), they switch their attention to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) agreement with Canada or the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) with the clear intention of prioritising the protection of investors’ interests over social, environmental or other standards. TTIP is more than just another trade agreement and we expect the European Commission and Parliament to take action to make sure that citizens are informed and their interests defended. Especially, the future President of the European Commission should put words into action. 150,000 responses to the public consultation do not represent the fear factor or a pessimistic critical public, they are the expression of public opinion, of those who feel concerned and who are not willing to wait until it is too late. Social protection and the protection of environmental, social and other standards are an investment in social peace, not a burden on trade and business.

La rentrée – time to go back to business (not as usual) and time to go back to the fundaments that made our continent a global role model: social standards, decent work, democracy and peace. This is the role and responsibility of the European institutions, of progressive and democratic political forces, social partners and civil society. There is no time to lose! Rentrez bien!

SOLIDAR mourns Ruth Brand

On 13 August Ruth Brand passed away at the age of 85, in Essen/Germany. Ruth Brand was not only a friend of SOLIDAR who helped found our network. She was a guiding light in building a Social Europe. She worked for many years for our German member organisation Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) at its headquarters in Bonn and promoted AWO’s European commitment in the 80’s which led to the creation of the European Association for Social and Cultural Progress, whose Secretary General she became. Later she was involved in the European Anti Poverty Network and lastly in AGE, representing the German coordination of Senior’s Organisations. As a staunch social democrat Ruth upheld our values and, as a result of her own experiences during the Nazi dictatorship and Second World War, was a strong advocate for European construction around a social pillar. In her last few years she campaigned on the issues of violence and discrimination against elderly people.

We have lost a friend, a supporter and an optimistic European.

Social Affairs

Call for Fair and Responsible Recruitment of Social Services Professionals Abroad

Brussels, 26th August 2014

Social and health services of high quality are an essential part of our European welfare system and are based on a universal social protection approach and the principle of solidarity. More specifically, quality social and health services guarantee the implementation of fundamental rights for all, ensure the creation of comparable living conditions and opportunities and contribute actively to enhancing the physical, mental, cultural and social capacity of individuals to participate fully in society.

Read the full article here

Education and Lifelong Learning

Validation of Learning Outcomes

28th August 2014

Recognition of the learning outcomes of non-formal and informal learning has become a central part of the recent debate on how to make visible and appropriately value the learning that occurs outside of the formal settings i.e. at the workplace, in the community, acquired as the result of non-formal education, or elsewhere. The validation of learning outcomes, as a centrepiece of lifelong learning, is becoming more important both at the national and European level of policy development.

SOLIDAR together with its partners has been working to strengthen the development of validation policies and arrangements in light of the Council Recommendation on validation of non-formal and informal learning and ways to improve the promotion of non-formal and informal learning opportunities for all in the 28 EU Member States. This has been done by means of organising national round tables, bringing together experts, stakeholders and representatives of the national authorities.

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International Cooperation

The Lessons from International Development Cooperation

29th August 2014

Huffington Post Germany has posted an article by our colleague from SOLIDAR Suisse, Felix Gnehm, Director of the International Department, entitled entitled ‘Ebola hält uns den Spiegel vor’. In his article he describes the paradoxical lessons to be learnt by taking a closer look at International Development Cooperation. Society today is confronted with the most horrific images, accessible simply by logging in on Facebook. Such images contribute to the general feeling of rapid global deterioration. And it is true that the number of victims is continuously growing, but so is humanitarian aid: the UN’s call for humanitarian aid reached a record of 9.36 billion Euros in 2014. On the other hand, when you compare national development funds to other national funds, su ch as defence, development funds do not account for a big chunk of State resources. The contrast is even more striking when comparing investment in development to the direct investments of Swiss firms: 2 billion Euros is reserved by the Swiss government for International Development aid, while 34 billion Euros is destined for the direct investments of Swiss firms. On top of that, in 2013 1200 USD worth of black money was transferred to the North, excluding it from taxes, which could have provided up to 597 billion USD worth of revenue for Africa.

Read the full article here

Related News

UNRWA Gaza situation report (issue no 51) + Revised Appeal incl. first recovery actions.
Read the full report here

Out now: ‘Promoting Women’s Rights & Gender Equality in the Middle East and North’

Read the full version here