Brussels, 28/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - Following two days of discussion, the message from the Citizens' Agora is clear: we do not want our European social model destroyed or weakened. In other words, we must not deal only with economic recovery issues. We want balanced public finances and economic growth so that the European social model can be strengthened. Therefore, we need more resources not fewer to reform our social and pensions systems. Nor have we forgotten our children, our future. That is why we have to devote more resources to education and training. No child must be left by the wayside. It was in these terms that European Parliament (EP) Vice-President Libor Roucek (S&D, Czech Republic) set out for the press the position of the representatives of organised civil society, NGOs and members of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), MEPs and European citizens meeting in the Citizens' Agora in Brussels (see EUROPE 10303).
The workshop discussions devoted to, firstly, poverty, secondly, migratory flows, thirdly, access to a decent life and to the European social model found a solution to the problems: poverty must be cut. For this, work at all levels simultaneously is necessary. This would involve stronger cooperation between the European institutions, and more effective cooperation between the EU and member states, and also among member states, regions and local communities. Organised society and citizens must also become involved, Roucek added.
All those taking part clearly voiced “their indignation, their anger, their unease” over poverty. EP Vice-President Isabelle Durant (Greens/EFA, Belgium) said that, for all those living in poverty, the EU was doing “a lot in economic terms and not enough in social terms” and this is even more the case for the most vulnerable who are doubly suffering the effects of the crisis in their daily lives.. “There was strength in the expectations of the NGOs, the EESC members and citizens”, Durant said with conviction. Citizens who were asked in the “Consensus Conference” to discuss two specific issues: culture as a way of breaking out of isolation, particularly for older, less well-off people, and the digital divide. Durant summed up the feelings of participants: “We don't show poverty, we seldom talk about it, it is not very obvious, almost as if society wanted to hide it”. Concrete recommendations were formulated by the three workshops and the Consensus Conference on the follow-up to the 2020 strategy at EP level, with new reports and recommendations and also implementation of existing reports and resolutions. Issues such as over-indebtedness and energy poverty were also broached. Participants discussed, too, “the importance of creating a link and better correlation between the work of the EESC and of the EP because it seems to us that more can be done”, said Durant.
Seizing on Durant's closing words, EESC President Staffan Nilsson stated that “cooperation is to the advantage of us all. It benefits us and all citizens”. He said that citizens had a key role to play in the legislative process “and you do even more”. “Now, you are also co-decision-makers. There are also the social partners and representatives of the sectors which give us a solid base”. After the workshop discussions, he felt “a very strong commitment”. He said, too, that the EP should take hold of the “European dimension of poverty” as it had been highlighted at this Agora. The Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers wanted opinions to be expressed on poverty and it is important to present the views of civil society through the EP rapporteurs.
Nilsson addressed three planks on education: formal education (which is part of the 2020 strategy), continuing education (which is also part of the strategy) and non-formal education. “Lots of organisations are working in this last area and may prove useful to all citizens: it provides access to schools and is an important instrument in facing up to the crisis”, he said. He concluded on the deep feeling of commitment he had felt at the Agora. He also hailed the cooperation in planning. “We all have different roles to play but together we can ensure that Europe goes from strength to strength”.
When asked by a journalist about the minimum wage, Roucek replied that in 22 member states there was a minimum wage but not in five. He said that he would like to see a common minimum wage throughout the EU. Homelessness is, Nilsson said, “a cause for shame for our societies. I believe it is a problem that can be resolved”. (G.B./transl.rt)