Brussels, 31/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - In a statement published on Tuesday 30 March, Mario Sepi, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hailed the outcome of the European Summit of 25-26 March. He welcomed the summit's decision to continue the exceptional support measures taken to combat the crisis until recovery has been fully secured and its approval of the EU 2020 strategy.
European summit. The EESC President called on heads of state and government and on political decision-makers to include the following key points in the EU 2020 strategy: (1) a true social action programme, to continue implementing the basic social legislation currently enshrined in the treaty; (2) better financing schemes for SMEs, the engine of European growth; (3) new sources of financing such as financial transaction taxes, energy taxation and levies on financial institutions; and (4) sustainable financial sources for life-long learning in line with the European economic goals.
Meeting with the European Council President. On 3 March, Sepi met the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy in Brussels. They discussed inter alia the issue of participative democracy and the role of the EESC in the new European institutional framework following the coming into effect of the Lisbon Treaty. They discussed, too, the possibility of Van Rompuy's taking part in a forthcoming EESC plenary session.
Letter to Commissioner Andor. Ahead of the EESC's biennial conference on “Education to combat social exclusion”, in Florence on 20-22 May, Sepi sent an open letter to Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Commissioner László Andor on 4 March. In this letter he “urged the European Commission to adopt a Social Action Programme, based on the Charter of Fundamental Rights”. Sepi said that “it is urgent to provide our citizens with a detailed schedule of the additional steps that Europe intends to take in order to tackle the jobs crisis. In particular, support for employment and productive investments should go hand in hand with new powers at European level, as well as the development of a new common EU strategy”. He continued, insisting “This strategy should include a new emphasis on growth and jobs, on the social dimension and it should be inspired by a different, more sustainable economic development model”. As part of this, the European year for combating poverty and social exclusion, Sepi also called on the Commissioner to “address the most severe consequences of the crisis, not least by promoting voluntary, non-profit measures”. Education is a crucial means of combating social exclusion, Sepi said. (G.B./transl.rt)