Editorial by Conny Reuter, SOLIDAR Secretary General

Agree to disagree?

6 February 2015

Two major political initiatives concluded this week with the statement: “we agree to disagree”. The polite diplomatic wording masks serious concerns. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande took the Franco-German initiative to meet Porochenko and Putin. Worried by the real risk of war at the regional level that could spread across the continent, they overcame their political differences and restored meaning to Franco-German cooperation based on common historical experiences and the lessons learnt from three wars between the two countries. At a time when the US is considering sending weapons to Ukraine, there is a real risk of war and we know from our history that regional wars tend to cross borders. The Franco-German initiative is a strong sign of their political will to solve the conflict and to strengthen the European voice.

The other event was the press conference by the German and Greek Ministers of Finance. In spite of all the enthusiasm that many progressives have expressed at the victory of Syriza in the Greek elections, they now have to form a government and learn to apply Realpolitik. This election reflects the desire to move away from Austerity and its disastrous effects. But dear Syriza supporters: please stop speaking of a social holocaust in Greece. The holocaust was a singular crime in history, the industrial-scale eradication of the Jews by the Nazis. Although your social situation is dramatic, the two cannot be compared.

The Greek crisis is more than just the issue of a GREXIT or a haircut. It has to do with the orientation of European policies and the expression of solidarity. There is a feeling of social urgency which seems not to be shared by the new Commission: we have the promise of the Jobs, Growth and Investment plan, but investment in social infrastructure and education have been left out, presenting us with a postponement of Europe2020. Understand, therefore, that we are disappointed to see the lack of interest in making a fresh start after the withdrawal of the Commission’s amendment of the maternity directive. The focus seems to be, instead, on reducing the famous red tape and the administrative burden.

There is a social emergency, there is a threat to democracy from terrorist attacks, there is a risk of war, and now?

The social partners and civil society are ready to engage, but the Commission has not shown many signs of reciprocating, at least the announcement of Commissioner Thyssen to put one billion euros on the Youth Guarantee is a step in the right direction.

There is no time to waste. It is time to act and to agree on the urgency of taking action, not on disagreeing!

Agree to act, not to disagree!

Together for Social Europe

Fighting youth unemployment in the Western Balkans

6 February 2015

On 6 February SOLIDAR participated in the Western Balkans Follow up Committee of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The EESC Follow-Up Committee is responsible for engaging with civil society stakeholders aiming to support the consolidation of democracy and foster civil and social dialogue in the Western Balkan region. SOLIDAR was invited to present the activities carried out in recent years with partners in the Western Balkans to improve decent work and social inclusion with a focus on measures to fight youth inactivity and unemployment. The recommendations presented have been developed together with partners of the IRIS network in the framework of a consultation launched last year to respond to the European Commission’s progress report 2014. An extended overview of this work is availabl e in SOLIDAR briefing #68 ‘Supporting Social Investment in the Western Balkans: European Enlargement Monitoring Reports 2014’. Another important source of information for the EESC Follow-up Committee debate on youth employment and economic opportunities in the Western Balkans was the FEPS-SOLIDAR book ‘The social dimension on EU Enlargement’ presenting an in-depth review of the current challenges for socio-economic developments.
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Building Learning Societies

European Commission pledges support to NEETs

4 February 2015

The European Commission announced that 1 billion euro from the Youth Employment Initiative will be made available this year to support around 650 000 young people who are neither in employment, education or training. This will be done by increasing the pre-financing rate from 1% to 30% in order to provide funding for the Member States to implement their Youth Guarantee programmes, and therefore to demonstrate that the fight against youth unemployment is both a political and an investment priority at the national and European level.

This step is crucial to enhancing the social inclusion of young people and offers new opportunities for NEETs who – apart from facing economic problems – are also subject to various negative social consequences, lower participation in society, and are exposed to a higher risk of unemployment and social exclusion later in their life. Currently 16% of 15-29 year olds need inclusive labour market and educational opportunities, support and guidance to help them overcome this situation.

The SOLIDAR briefing paper, “Social inclusion through VET – new opportunities for NEETs”, based on the experiences of its members, examines the different approaches to inclusive vocational education and training to support the reintegration of NEETs and provide inclusive learning pathways. SOLIDAR’s recommendations include defining broader, concrete policy measures at the national and European level to support NEETs at the grass-root level and creating tailored and meaningful actions for NEETs, including empowering young people who are outside formal structures and offering opportunities for meaningful learning and quality employment with realistic prospects for the future.
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Organising International Solidarity

Investment in universal social protection is the key to sustainable education, migration and development policies

5 February 2015

This year is the European Year for Development, and February is the month dedicated to promoting Education as one of the best possible investments against exclusion, inequality and poverty. In parallel to this, the EU is revising its migration policy “which will balance a fairer and responsible approach to legal migration, in order to make the EU an attractive destination for talent and skills”.

The link between education, migration and development is crucial in tackling the ongoing challenges of widespread poverty, exclusion and inequality. SOLIDAR calls on the EU to make this link by promoting universal and comprehensive social protection systems, including the establishment of Social Protection Floors containing basic social security guarantees, including the right to access to quality education for all, and to extend social protection schemes to both educated and non-educated migrant workers.
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An online platform for Social Protection Floors activists

5 February 2015

This week, the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors website was launched at the UN headquarters in New York in the framework of the Social Protection Inter Agency Cooperation Board (SPIAC-B) of which SOLIDAR is a member and the CSOs Forum preceding the 53rd UN Commission on Social Development whose Priority Theme is “Rethinking and strengthening social development in the contemporary world”.
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