SOLIDAR Silver Rose Awards

Join us on Wednesday 3 June in the European Parliament and meet the winners!

This week we announced the organisations and individuals who have been selected as winners of the Silver Rose Awards 2015 in the four categories; Together for Social Europe, Building Learning Societies, Organising International Solidarity and the Lifetime Achievement Award’. Below you can find a brief explanation of why they have been selected and in what way their efforts have contributed to advancing social justice in Europe and worldwide. You can register for the Silver Rose Awards ceremony here.

The winners are:

• Lifetime Achievement Award, Günter Wallraff
• Together for Social European Award, Aide et Défense des Jeunes Isolés Etrangers (ADJIE)
• Building Learning Societies Award, Sosyal Yasama ve Egitme Katki Dernegi (Association for Contribution to Education and Social Life – SOYAD)
• Organising International Solidarity Award, The International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF)

You can find the draft programme of the Silver Rose Ceremony here.

The Silver Rose Awards is organised with the support of the S&D Group and the Party for European Socialists and with the media support of EurActiv.

Together for Social Europe

SOLIDAR Press Release: ‘New EU-25 agenda on Migration: a Comprehensive Solution or a set of Stopgap Measures?’

13 May 2015

Today (13 May), First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, HR/VP Federica Mogherini, and Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos presented the new EU Agenda on Migration, putting forward the key principles and actions to improve the EU’s capacity to manage migration flows as well as to address challenges and opportunities of migration for 2015-2020. SOLIDAR is concerned that the approach envisaged in this Agenda is too unbalanced on the side of securing boarders than on guaranteeing human rights for everyone and does not respond to our expectations of enhancing solidarity and responsibility-sharing systems.

SOLIDAR is concerned that the approach envisaged in the new EU Agenda is too unbalanced on the side of securing boarders than on guaranteeing human rights for everyone. This document seems to confirm the intention of EU leaders to prioritise border controls over the plight of people seeking protection by proceeding on the direction of reinforcing the Fortress Europe’s approach, although its inefficiency in preventing deaths and protection human rights has been proved. Since the presentation of Juncker’s political guidelines last year, in which the need to improve EU migration policy was one of the priorities, SOLIDAR has been on the frontline to call for solidarity and respect of human rights to be put at the heart of such an initiative.

Read the full version here.

EU Trade policy: Commission should focus on transparency, sustainability and added value for its citizens

12 May 2015

The US and the EU held their ninth negotiating round in New York from 20 to 24 April – with a focus on the following issues:

One of the hot topics is “regulatory cooperation” – the process of aligning European and US standards (for example security requirements for cars or food safety regulations etc.) as well as working together in the frame of a regulatory cooperation council, before new legislation has even been proposed. It would mean that the US side would be consulted on – and has the possibility to change or even stop – possible EU legislation before the official process with the European Parliament or any consultation with civil society has even begun. There are serious doubts about the democratic legitimacy of such a regulatory cooperation council as its composition is unknown. No proposals have been published so far but leaked documents show the potential involvement of business representatives in these councils. This would grant businesses privileged access to the legislative process, which is not acceptable.
Read more

Building Learning Societies

Shaping active citizens through fostering youth participation

13 May 2015

The recent study on European Youth (flash Eurobarometer 408) conduced for the European Commission – Directorate General for Education and Culture has studied youth participation in society in the EU (with a specific focus on volunteering, participation in elections and cultural activities) on the basis of 13,000 interviews with young people between 15 and 30 years old. As the study reveals, in comparison with 2013, youth participation has decreased by 7%. In 2015 only 49% of young people participated in at least one organised activity by a sports or youth club, local or cultural organisation, political group, volunteering or a non-governmental organisation. One of the key finding of the study shows that youth who took part in non-formal learning activities are much more engaged as citizens and more likely to participate in political elections.
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Organising International Solidarity

SOLIDAR, EMHRN, Amnesty International, FIDH and OMCT call for Human Rights recommendations at next EU-Algeria Association Council

11 May 2015

Following the 30 April European Parliament resolution SOLIDAR together with the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN), Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) today sent a joint letter to High Representative/ Vice-President Federica Mogherini, Commissioner Hahn and Foreign Affairs Ministers from the Member States ahead of the EU-Algeria Association Council scheduled on the 19 May.

SOLIDAR and the other organisations, are calling for human rights to be included on the agenda of the next ministerial meeting, especially as the 2015 ENP Progress reports package lacks an updated memo on Algeria, and therefore an assessment of the impact of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) on human rights and economic, social, cultural rights (ESCRs) in Algeria. This decision should not reflect a lack of willingness on the part of European authorities to put human rights at the heart of its relations with neighbouring countries, including Algeria, which have not yet adopted an ENP Action Plan.
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Financing for Development: explicit reference to the ILO’s national social protection floors Recommendation needed!

11 May 2015

Last week (May 6), the Financing for Development (FfD) Conference facilitators released the revised draft outcome document. This revised draft of the Addis Accord recognises Social Protection as one of the four core concrete cross-cutting areas (together with hunger, infrastructure, and financial access for SMEs) where concrete initiatives are needed in order to be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

In particular paragraph 11 on Delivering social protection and essential public services for all states that “…In our effort to end poverty in all its forms everywhere, we commit to implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, with a focus on those furthest below the poverty line and people in vulnerable situations …”

The possibility of establishing a global fund for social protection is also mentioned. Paragraph 28, under the chapter Domestic Public Resources indicates that: “….We agree to support national efforts with commensurate international cooperation and finance… to ensure that by 2030, every woman, every child and every family has access to a nationally agreed package of essential services. We will explore the most effective, efficient and coherent funding modalities to do this, including the possibility of global funds…”.
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Solidarity to Provide Aid to the Victims of the Nepal Earthquake

On Tuesday 29 April, SOLIDAR launched a Call for Solidarity in response to the earthquake that has struck Nepal and caused major destruction across the whole country. According to official figures at least 3,900 people have lost their lives and a further 7,000 have been injured. It is feared that the number of deaths will keep rising. The epicentre of the earthquake was located only about 80 kilometres west of the capital Kathmandu. This was the strongest earthquake in the last 80 years. The Nepalese government has declared a state of emergency. Aid, SOLIDAR Suisse, Samaritan Austria, Volkshilfe Austria, Norwegian People’s Aid together with their Nepalese partners, are working to raise funds and to deploy missions to the epicentre to help those in need with first aid, shelter, medications, food and other support.

You can help the people in Nepal by making a donation to the SOLIDAR Foundation for Humanitarian Cooperation:
IBAN: BE53 7310 0861 1753
BIC: KREDBEBB
ACCOUNT HOLDER: SOLIDAR Foundation for humanitarian, development and European cooperation ASBL
Mentioning the following sentence when making the payment: Nepal Solidarity