Brussels, 27/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - A dozen European lobby groups in the social, environmental and trade union fields, united in the “Alliance for a democratic, social and sustainable European semester” criticised the country-specific social and economic recommendations endorsed by the European summit on Friday 27 June.
Recognising that some progress has been made in the social domain, housing, the sustainability of pension systems and the fight against tax evasion, the Alliance points out that “progress is still seriously undermined by macroeconomic priorities focusing almost exclusively on austerity and competitiveness”. “The recommendations still fall seriously short of addressing the poverty crisis experienced daily by 124.2 million people in the EU. (…) In the end, most country-specific recommendations focus on budget consolidation rather than public investment”, railed Barbara Helfferich, who leads the work of the Alliance for the European Anti-Poverty Network.
The Alliance wants greater coherence in policies. It welcomes action focussed on those furthest from the labour market, but this contrasts with the “increased focus on reviewing wage-setting and indexing mechanisms to produce downward pressure in order to increase competitiveness, which will only increase in-work poverty”. Likewise, the Alliance praises the promotion of investment in education, but says this investment is undermined by budget cuts in areas such as welfare protection, healthcare and employment services. (MB)