Brussels, 14/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Brussels on Wednesday 14 July under the chairmanship of Pervenche Bérès (S&D, France), the committee on employment and social affairs of the European Parliament debated, with the Belgian ministers responsible for employment and social affairs, the objectives the Belgian Presidency aims to fulfil during its term in office. The informal Employment-Social Affairs Council (EPSCO) to be held in Brussels on 7 and 8 July already dealt with the priorities of the Presidency, in particular the need to put employment at the heart of the EU 2020 strategy and of future economic governance, making the economy greener (green jobs), the ageing population and increasing professional lifecycles (white jobs), pensions, social security and social inclusion (EUROPE 10175/10177/10178). This was a packed agenda, causing Pervenche Berès to comment: “Even a government managing current affairs can put forward an ambitious programme!”.
Having taken questions from the MEPs, Joëlle Milquet, the Belgian deputy prime minister and employment minister, replied:
(1) Employment: to Csaba Öry (EPP, Hungary), who asked: “What do you think of the other policies needed to put employment policy at the heart of the EU 2020 strategy, such as SME policies”, Joëlle Milquet stressed that “employment policies are enormously supported by other policies, such as policies for SMEs, which create the most jobs in the EU”. “How can Ecofin be persuaded that employment is a key element in macro-economic policies”, asked Stephen Hughes (S&D, UK). “Economic governance is a major battle which is already well supported in the Council. I believe that it is vital to bolster the coordination within the Commission, the various committees, etc, but also to have a complementary approach to give us a broader view of the strategy”, Milquet replied.
(2) Immigration: Alejandro Cercas (S&D, Spain) rapporteur on the directive on immigrant workers, raised the issue of seasonal workers. “The debate hinges around the new worker secondment directive and the one on seasonal workers. We must see what is being added to the social protection issue”, the minister replied.
(3) Fight against discrimination: Elizabeth Lynne (ALDE, UK) asked whether the Belgian Presidency could do anything to unblock the anti-discrimination directive at the Council. Mara Bizzotto (EFD, Italy) asked whether the Belgian Presidency planned to ban the Burqa. “This is a debate which should be left up to the subsidiarity of the member states, and which is directly at odds with the anti-discrimination directive”, Joëlle Milquet observed. Adam Kosa (EPP, Hungary) expressed his concern at the situation of the disabled and suggested the creation of a European charter for the disabled, to guarantee them freedom of movement within the EU. “This highly important issue will be central to the summit on Equality. The Presidency would like to move forward the debate on the fight against discrimination by creating a sequence of subjects. The situation of the disabled is extremely important, as is your suggestion of a single charter”, said Joëlle Milquet
(4) Minimum income: Karima Delli (EPP, Belgium) asked whether the Belgian Presidency was prepared to support the idea of a genuine minimum income to help people living in situations of poverty. Marian Harkin (ALDE, Ireland) asked whether the Belgian Presidency was planning a minimum wage programme. Pascale Gruny (EPP, France) called for the European Social Fund to be remembered in every debate on employment.
Laurette Onkelinx, the Belgian minister for social affairs and social integration, then spoke of the priorities of the Belgian Presidency in the field of social affairs: the guideline no. 10 on the social aspects of the EU 2020 strategy, minimum income and the social services of general interest (SSGI). Onkelinx pointed out that the economic crisis had had terrible social consequences in terms of increasing unemployment, precariousness and that “our social models had been a shield to absorb the blows”. The Lisbon Treaty, which focuses on the transversal social clause (“this article is the evaluation of all of the EU's decisions as regards their impact on European life”, the minister explained) is extremely important. She announced that the Belgian Presidency would work closely with the social protection committee to propose “a European framework for quality social services of general interest”.
Then replying to the various questions put by the MEPS (most of which were the same as those put to Joëlle Milquet), Onkelinx said:
(1) Quality of employment: this was already central to the Lisbon strategy in 2001 (under the Belgian Presidency of the EU). “We could dream of workers' rights but these are still far away. We must work on the basis of the employment and social protection guidelines, which constitutes social insurance, solidarity which must be supported by a European policy”.
(2) Social services of general interest (SSGI): These services constitute “a fluid border between the economic and the non-economic. Does this mean that we need to work under a legal framework on the SSGI? Yes, I think this is better”, observed Laurette Onkelinx.
(3) Minimum income: The main element is rules on active inclusion. The member states do not agree on the common criteria for a framework of this kind but they have committed to an exchange of ideas, Onkelinx noted, adding that guideline no. 10 speaks of minimum income, access to healthcare and a range of other services.
The Belgian minister for pensions, Michel Daerden, then presented his proposal to create a European pension fund for workers and for highly mobile workers such as researchers. Jean-Marc Delizée, the Belgian secretary of state in charge of the fight against poverty, stressed the fight against child poverty, the need to tackle the issue of children's access to their rights and the same for families living in poverty, and on the issue of giving scale to the issue at European level by adopting a recommendation with the objective of reducing this poverty. Jean-Marc Délizée also indicated that the Presidency would do all in its power to ensure that the United Nations convention on the rights of the disabled would be ratified by all member states. (G.B./transl.fl)