Editorial by Conny Reuter, SOLIDAR Secretary General

Summer time blues

10 July 2015

In today’s news Europe’s stock exchanges seem to be reacting positively to the proposed reforms presented by Greek Prime Minister Tsipras. But this again begs the question: do we live in a democracy-led market, or a market-led democracy? Speculation is high, while at the same time we are witnessing an odd spectacle: politicians are paving the way for even more populism as demonstrated by Manfred Weber from the EPP in his reply to Tsipras in the European Parliament. Seeing the Front National applauding the Greek PM also shows that something is wrong: a supposed alliance between two very opposite sides against austerity, against the Euro and in the end against Europe. Disgusting.

Nevertheless there was positive message this week, from the European Parliament which has played its role as the place of democratic dispute and more: an agreement has been voted on TTIP which puts an end to the old version of ISDS (investor to state dispute settlement) through a reformed version and a reformed procedure. Some may say it does not go far enough, but democracy is also the art of compromise and it will be interesting to see how far the European negotiators of TTIP will endorse the Parliament’s decision. Or is this about mistrust? It is based on scepticism following the information from the American side that EU negotiators sometimes fail to uphold European standards like the public procurement directive. Furthermore there is still the risk that public and social services will not be secured.

Another important vote this week was on the so-called freedom of panorama which will allow all of us to continue to take photos of public places without facing the risk of a rights dispute. The European Parliament is the legitimate European democratic institution and instead of creating scrutiny boards and Troikas the Commission will be advised to present their initiative, if any, to the Parliament. And there is an urgent need to act: the crash of the Chinese stock exchanges, Russia ante portas, the advance of Deash and the continued human tragedies linked to migration.

Instead of summer time blues, the citizens expect ambition and protection, not division and finger pointing. We expect our leaders to “à la hauteur” of the challenges.

Together for Social Europe

Social Progress Lab: the need for alternative reforms to enhance Europe’s social dimension

06 July 2015

The recent quarterly review by the European Commission to assess labour market and social developments painted a clear picture: the number of unemployed people remains high throughout Europe with wide divergences between Member States. Although some improvements in employment numbers can be seen, young people in particular are carrying the burden of the recent economic crisis and failed policy responses. Waiting for growth to return to Europe is not an answer SOLIDAR can accept. Our approach is two-fold: supporting our members in their targeted provision of services to people in need and at the same time the development of alternative answers to the structural reforms currently being promoted by the EU institutions and most national governments.

On Monday 6 July, at the International Labour Organisation’s International (ILO) Training Centre, with the support of ACTRAV, the ILO’s Bureau for Workers’ Activities SOLIDAR launched – our Social Progress Lab, a space to develop an alternative vision of our social Europe – where high social safeguards are implemented and Member States develop together, for more upward convergence and more equality for Europe’s citizens.

The Social Progress Lab started with a Symposium, that took place on Monday (6 July) in Turin, bringing together a group of academics and independent thinkers. Focusing on the introduction of social safeguards in the Union’s policies and economic governance, the selected participants presented and discussed their policy alternatives to create higher quality jobs, more inclusive growth and social investment.
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SOLIDAR members discuss effective responses to long-term unemployment and NEETs

07 July 2015

On 7 July, SOLIDAR organised the second edition of our EU Training Academy with local staff from our member organisations in France, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Finland and Spain.

We met for two days at the ILO’s International Training Centre in Turin with the support of ACTRAV, the ILO’s Bureau for Workers’ Activities.

After a successful first Academy last year in Frankfurt, Germany, participants this time exchanged experiences and best practices on service provision for the long-term unemployed as well as young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs). The number of NEETs is still sky-rocketing, especially in southern and eastern EU countries. Although structural youth unemployment has existed throughout the past decades, the numbers reached during the high-point of the economic crisis are threatening the future of a whole generation. Therefore, focused actions at local and regional level are of utmost importance to tackle the problem and give young people a new perspective.
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You can also read the activity report on the training academy here.

The European Parliament wants a different ISDS

10 July 2015

This week the European Parliament voted (finally) on a report on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that said no to the current and highly controversial Investor to State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). The adopted text includes in one sentence “to replace the ISDS-system” and “with a new system for resolving disputes between investors and states”. This new system should “not undermine public policy objectives” as we have seen in several controversial ISDS cases: attempts by Vattenfall to reverse Germany‘s decision to shut down its nuclear power plants, Lone Pine attacking Québec‘s fracking ban, oil and gas giant Chevron evading compliance with its legal obligation to clean up the health and environmental damages resulting from its operations in Ecuador, and Philip Morris challenging tobacco regulations in Australia and Uruguay.
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Building Learning Societies

Policy debate on Validation of Learning Outcomes

10 July 2015

On 9 July SOLIDAR participated in the policy debate “Validation of learning outcomes: opportunities and threats for non-formal education”. The debate organised by EUCIS – LLL and The European Youth Forum aimed to give an insight into the impact of EU and national policy developments around the recognition and validation of non-formal and informal learning and the progress made in the establishment of validation arrangements at national level.

Representatives from the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) assured that validation of learning outcomes is and will continue to be seen as a crucial element in the EU skills agenda. New initiatives and guidelines aimed at increasing coherency, efficiency and transparency of validation mechanisms are currently under development at the European level.
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Organising International Solidarity

Joint-twitter action for a #newENP: Going back to basics… Yes, but for universal values

10 July 2015

On 30 June, the public consultation on the revision of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was closed, and today the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament adopted in a plenary session the parliamentary report on the revision of the ENP. Yet the process is just about to start and the final joint communication will not be issued until around 28 October 2015. A brand-new policy is expected to be shaped in the coming months.

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from the EU and neighbouring countries have largely contributed (through this press release) to the consultation, and will organise for more coordinated action and a more coordinated response to the upcoming communication. On the occasion of today’s vote in the plenary, SOLIDAR launched a joint-twitter action, with member and partner organisations such as, Alianza por la Solidaridad, Movimiento por la Paz, FOS-Socialistische Solidariteit, ARCS, CONCORD, Arab NGO Network (ANND), ALDA, Democracy and the Workers’ Rights Centre in Palestine (DWRC) and Child Pact, to strengthen our call for a new and better European Neighbourhood Partnership, #newENP.

A newly established web platform on Social Protection and Human Rights is launched

10 July 2015

A newly established web platform on Social Protection and Human Rights (www.socialprotection-humanrights.org) is now available: it brings together various resources relevant to a rights-based approach to social protection, including expert commentaries, reports and other publications, as well as relevant legal instruments and legal cases at the international, regional and domestic level.
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