Brussels, 22/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - The Employment/Social Affairs Council on 21 October approved the opinion of the social protection committee (SPC) on social protection and social inclusion in the EUROPE 2020 strategy.
The main difficulties encountered by member states in setting their national targets on social exclusion and poverty reduction include the current budgetary constraints, the availability of statistics, the difficulty to quantify targets for specific policy measures and the need to conduct analysis to identify groups which are subject to the risk of poverty as well as the new forms of poverty.
Most ministers took the view that fiscal consolidation should not steal the limelight from social policy, which should be better targeted to help those in need. National reform programmes (NRP) should comprise a section on social protection and poverty reduction.
Ministers also consider that accompanying the process of fixing national targets at European level could constitute an added value. They mentioned in this context the development of an efficient monitoring mechanism, strengthening cooperation between member states and the Commission, using the open method of coordination, and the exchange of experience and best practice at EU level.
Ministers suggested extending the committee's agenda to encompass themes such as active ageing, intergenerational solidarity, child poverty, and the elderly. Many also underlined the need to simplify SPC reports. They mandated the SPC to continue its work on this basis.
In its opinion, the SPC highlights the fundamental role of the Employment and Social Affairs Council in the social affairs dimension of the EU 2020 strategy and its governance, and it presents an overview of its contribution to the Employment and Social Affairs Council on the EU 2020 strategy. Areas covered include monitoring progress in the achievement of the EU's social inclusion and poverty reduction targets, following up on implementation of the social aspects of the integrated guidelines and making use of the joint implementation mechanism to monitor social changes and social protection policy developments. (G.B. trans fl)