Trafficking migrants – The new “social” business?

27 February 2015

The humanitarian tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea where last year more than 3500 people lost their lives is a form of “social” business with huge profits and benefits for those who organise the traffic: if refugees are ready and able to pay between $6000 and $8000 for their passage, one ship load can earn a net profit of more than $1 million. Human trafficking feeds an industry which is informal and is built on the exploitation of the most vulnerable: people fleeing wars in Syria and elsewhere. And, by the way, fleeing the war was also the reason why millions of refugees travelled across Europe during and after the 2nd World War. It may be appropriate to recall this historical fact in the heated debate in Europe.

Although the European Union is not responsible for the reasons which drive people to leave their homes and families, its passive attitude and failure to act is irresponsible. The first aim of the European Union should be to save human lives and this cannot be achieved with a migration policy which is based solely on border control. FRONTEX cannot be the answer. The EU has to develop urgently a real plan to counter these moves: firstly by ensuring humanitarian aid for those in need. If the argument is that search and rescue operations have a pull effect, then the best way to dry up this lucrative source of income is: legalise it! This is the idea behind the humanitarian corridor. It is totally anachronistic to think that intensified border control will act as deterrent to stop migration flows: people will continue trying to come to Europe as the reasons driving them are stronger than the fear of risking their lives. Therefore, what we really need to do to reduce the number of people getting on these boats is to offer them alternative, safe and legal channels to enter the EU.

A humanitarian corridor can save lives, can create decent conditions and enable the regulation of flows under decent conditions. Perhaps it is easier to negotiate this concrete issue between the EU and the Member States than just call for solidarity. In order to complement these measures, Member States should put in place more favourable arrangements for people fleeing wars and seeking international protection such as flexible visa policies, extended temporary residents’ cards and improved access to healthcare and social services, following the good local examples of Germany and Sweden.

Every day of non-action has a price: Although Heads of State and of the EU came to Lampedusa on the anniversary of the tragedy last October, over 370 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in the last two months and this trend is expected to increase if no effective measures are put in place by the European institutions.

The next step must be to continue external action to put an end to the conflicts with courage and determination, promoting economic and social development by creating the conditions for investment in the real economy and good governance: fighting the root causes of migration. The cherry on the cake will be money from the European Jobs, Growth and Investment Pact that must be invested not only in infrastructure in Europe, but also in our neighbourhood: the Middle East and North Africa. Humanism is not dead, but people continue to lose their lives because of Europe’s inactivity!

Together for Social Europe

Is the EU’s decision to extend Triton an adequate solution to the human tragedies in the Mediterranean?

25 February 2015

Last week the European Commission decided to extend and boost the FRONTEX Joint Operation Triton in the central Mediterranean until the end of 2015, despite the scepticism of many experts, NGOs and international organisations about the adequacy and efficacy of this approach to solving the humanitarian tragedies that are perpetuating in the Mediterranean sea.

SOLIDAR calls for a change in the EU’s migration policies based on more solidarity, a human rights focus and the deconstruction of the discourse on border security. In particular we ask the European Institutions:

• to invest in a search and rescue operation that has the primary objective of saving human lives
• to immediately provide safe and legal alternatives to dangerous boat journeys for people fleeing wars via the Mediterranean sea by opening humanitarian corridors.
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TTIP on the agenda in Brussels and Berlin

27 February 2015

This week, TTIP was back on the agenda of the European Parliament. The Employment and Social Affairs Committee (EMPL) decided on the timetable to prepare its opinion on the TTIP report of the International Trade Committee (INTA) which will be voted on in May in plenary. The Culture and Education Committee (CULT) also presented its draft opinion which will be discussed in the next meeting.

SOLIDAR stressed again its main concerns regarding TTIP in a letter to the INTA rapporteur Bernd Lange and EMPL opinion rapporteur Marian Harkin.
Besides our concerns regarding the transparency of the negotiation process and the question of the dispute settlement mechanism, SOLIDAR stresses three major points:

• Social services need to be excluded from TTIP negotiations with legal certainty. Social services are provided directly to a person in need of support and play a preventative and socially cohesive role. Opening them up to international competition does risk the quality and accessibility of social service provision.
• Public Procurement: The EU Directives on Public Procurement adopted in 2014 provide the possibility for public authorities to include social and environmental quality criteria in their public tenders and to refrain from awarding service contracts to the cheapest provider. This is a significant improvement and EU negotiators of TTIP must not risk this achievement by considering quality criteria in public procurement as non-tariff barriers to trade which have to be removed. Governments need to retain the ability to address societal needs by applying socially and environmentally responsible criteria to procurement.
• Enforceability of labour rights: To enable sustainable development, TTIP must ensure that all parties adopt, maintain and enforce at all levels of government the eight core conventions of the International Labour Organisation for all workers, as well as the Decent Work Agenda, and that those minimum standards set a starting point for regular improvements that are built into the architecture of the agreement. Recourse to dispute settlement, which should be on a state-to-state level rather than in private courts, as well as possible trade sanctions are to be included into TTIP.
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Building Learning Societies

Non-formal and informal learning and VET helping to fight early school leaving, child poverty and youth unemployment

27 February 2015

On 26 February the European Parliaments’ Committee on Culture and Education together with the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs organised a joint Public Hearing on “The reform of the educational systems in Europe as a way to fight early school leaving, child poverty and youth unemployment” at a time when the numbers of jobless youth and people falling into poverty are growing drastically. It is essential to find supporting measures and redesign the current systems to make them more inclusive and supportive for learners.

One of the good examples presented is the dual system model that is well developed in the German-speaking countries where fully-fledged vocational training and apprenticeships provided by companies lead to qualifications. The key to the success of this system is the fact that majority of the students (60%) are offered a position after their training period, and the remaining 40% enter the jobs market with a recognised certificate, which has direct impact on their employability. Nevertheless it is important to understand that this system has been created within a strong cultural and historical context. It is impossible to offer the same solution, as a whole package, to other countries to implement as a measure of reducing youth unemployment without adjusting it to the national socio-cultural context.
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Organising International Solidarity

SOLIDAR mobilising for Social Justice at the World Social Forum in Tunis!

27 February 2015

SOLIDAR is participating at the World Social Forum that this year will take place in Tunis from the 24 to 28 March.

SOLIDAR and members will engage with key regional allies such as the Global Progressive Forum, The Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), the Euromed Platform, as well as trade unions and progressive political forces to mobilise for social justice globally.

Together, we will have debates on Trade and Decent Work, Social Protection in the MENA region, Women’s Rights, Democracy in the MENA region, Tax, Justice and Freedom of Association in the MENA region.

At the World Social Forum SOLIDAR will mobilise to promote the Sustainable Development Goals to tackle growing inequalities and precariousness which will be adopted at the end of September this year.

Social Protection 4 All – SOLIDAR Members in Action

26 February 2015

Monthly Newsletter dedicated to EYD2015 themes with articles by SOLIDAR Members

SOLIDAR supports the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Social Protection Floor approach that promotes access to essential social security transfers and social services in the areas of health, water and sanitation, education, food, housing and other essential services.

As 2015 is the European Year for Development (EYD2015), it offers us a great opportunity to boost the EU’s commitment to support the realisation of social protection for all and a chance for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to highlight our key role in reaching this goal. In the frame of EYD2015, monthly newsletters will reflect on specific themes and how they relate to social protection. February is dedicated to education. As a result, this edition of our newsletter is composed of articles on the different activities and achievements of the SOLIDAR network in relation to building learning societies and promoting access to education.
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