Mariana Vieira da Silva, the Portuguese Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, reported that, during the informal videoconference meeting on Employment and Social Policies on Monday 22 February, the Member States supported the project to draw up quantifiable targets as part of the action plan for implementing the European pillar of social rights.
The Minister reported that there was a consensus among Member States about the need to identify quantifiable measures and criteria that she believed will focus on three major issues: - employment, the top priority, according to Vieira da Silva, in light of the Covid-19 crisis; - skills and qualifications; - tackling poverty.
She said that the intention is to continue with previously established practice for the targets in the EUROPE 2020 strategy.
The Commission plans to present its action plan on the European pillar of social rights on 3 March (see EUROPE 12649/26). However, it is not expected to present proposals to amend the ‘European Semester’ budgetary process on that day, particularly the ‘social scoreboard’, the EU monitoring tool to assess the employment rate and social trends in relation to the European pillar of social rights.
An action plan that includes gender equality
Ministers recognised the need for an action plan on social rights that takes gender into account. They agreed on the importance of including gender in the national recovery plans that will be submitted by Member States as part of the Next Generation EU recovery plan.
Discussions again brought to light the extent to which gender inequalities have been accentuated by the pandemic (see EUROPE 12457/17). Vieira da Silva told the press that the crisis has hit women harder.
This problem was brought to the attention of the EU Heads of State or Government as early as March 2020 by Helena Dalli, the European Commissioner for Equality (see EUROPE 12457/17). Dalli recommended implementing short- and long-term policies to protect jobs and incomes.
Social alliance
The ‘Stand Up for the Social Pillar’ Alliance has called on the European Commission and Member States to take tangible and measurable actions under the Action Plan.
Recently, several Social Democrat MEPs, including Iratxe Garcia Pérez from Spain, the President of the S&D group, sent a letter to the relevant ministers calling for short-, medium- and long-term targets and legislative initiatives in relation to the action plan.
The Alliance’s joint document can be found at: http://bit.ly/37Ffpzj
The joint letter can be found at: http://bit.ly/2P0blmR (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens and Agathe Cherki)