Brussels, 21/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 21 September, MEPs from the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) at the European Parliament adopted an ambitious, ten-point social policy strategy for Europe aimed at improving people's quality of life. The daily lives of European citizens have been hit by the crisis. This strategy document was to make the single market more socially oriented.
The strategy must respond to the European Union's “antisocial development”. MEPs from this group consider that this should not be accepted as a foregone conclusion but as a result of “a deliberate political choice by the right-wing majority is that currently dominate all European institutions”. MEPs from this political group warned that the European project had been hijacked, which risked undermining the prospects for greater intervention for a long time and also benefited nationalist, populist and Europhobic parties.
In order to counter this evolution, a ten-point strategy is advocated, which can be summarised in the following way: - making single market rules compatible with the most advanced legislation on labour law and working conditions (equal pay, union rights, working time, health and safety at work, non-discrimination and equal treatment between men and women and between EU and non-EU workers); - taking European measures to fight against poverty and social exclusion; - framing industrial restructuring, which is “often unavoidable”, by rules and European policies that make this restructuring “socially decent”; - developing a strategy for the sustainability and social equality of pensions and to prevent them falling or prolonging the period in which contributions have to be made to them.
The complete document text, elaborated by the vice presidents of the group, Rovana Plumb and Stephen Hughes, can be consulted on the S&D group website: http://www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu. (F.G.trans/fl)