On Thursday 4 March, the European Commission presented its European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, which sets out all the actions, both legislative and non-legislative, over the next 4 years, as well as three main indicators that will guide European action in the social area until 2030.
“As we gradually start to move out of the health crisis in the coming months, it is essential to give a very strong political signal to all Europeans that the EU is concerned for their livelihoods, their jobs, and their well-being”, said the Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, citing the recent Eurobarometer survey showing a strong interest among European citizens in social issues (see EUROPE 12668/7).
Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis stressed the need to set a course, including social targets up to 2030. (These targets) “build on the EUROPE 2020 targets and help focus our joint efforts towards 2030. They are also consistent with the targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals”, he explained.
Three main targets at European level
As EUROPE reported (see EUROPE 12668/6), the European Commission presented three main indicators that target 2030.
The EU wants at least 78% of the population aged 20-64 to be employed by 2030. Here, it wants to reduce the gender employment gap by at least half compared to 2019. It intends to increase the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) facilities for children under the compulsory school age, without giving a target figure. It hopes to reduce the rate of unemployed and low-skilled young people aged 15 to 29 from 12.6% in 2019 to 9%.
In line with the European skills agenda strategy, (see EUROPE 12518/1), the Commission’s second objective is that at least 60% of adults participate in training each year. This rate was 37% in 2016 and 18% for the least qualified.
The Commission estimates that at least 80% of people aged 16-74 should have basic digital skills. In addition, it wants to reduce school drop-out rates and increase participation in upper secondary education. Here too, there is no target figure.
Poverty reduction target revised downwards
Finally, the Commission wants to reduce “by at least” 15 million by 2030 the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Of this target, at least 5 million should be children.
Asked by EUROPE about the reasons for a less ambitious objective than the one foreseen in the ‘EUROPE 2020’ strategy (which recommended a reduction of 20 million people), Nicolas Schmit explained that lessons had been learned from the past and from the targets missed in the previous strategy. The Commission has therefore set a poverty reduction target of “at least” 15 million people in the hope of going beyond this. “This is a 2030 perspective. It is unclear how different parameters will evolve”, the Commissioner argued.
To monitor these objectives, the Commission will revise the Social Scoreboard in the first quarter of 2021 in the context of the ‘European Semester’ budgetary process.
These objectives are European, not national. Member States are invited to present their national objectives to contribute to the European objectives.
No permanent Unemployment Reinsurance Scheme
As part of this action plan, the Commission announces a series of concrete actions to implement the social pillar. Many of them are already known. Examples include the launch of a Child Guarantee, an initiative to better protect platform workers, the launch of a platform to combat homelessness, an action plan on the social economy, and recommendations for a decent minimum wage.
The action list is clear until 2022. A certain amount of vagueness settles in from 2023 onwards. Only an evaluation of the action plan is planned for 2025.
The Unemployment Reinsurance Scheme is absent from the document, even over a long period of time. The European Commission first wants to focus on the implementation of the SURE instrument, in accordance with the will of the Dombrovskis cabinet.
“It is now a question of evaluating the various measures we have already taken (...) and, in this context, to see how it can be supplemented by other instruments”, explained Mr Schmit.
This action plan will be the culmination of the Porto Social Summit in May (see EUROPE 12616/19).
Reactions
Reactions to these announcements have been multiple. Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, welcomed the action plan, which he said marked an important step towards creating a “new Europe” for the “Covid-19 generation”.
In the European Parliament, the coordinator of the EPP group in the Committee of Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), Dennis Radtke from Germany, welcomed the action plan with an emphasis on employment and training. The same reaction from Agnes Jongerius (S&D, Netherlands) and Sylvie Brunet (Renew Europe, France). The Greens/EFA and The Left groups, and in particular the French delegation of the latter, were perplexed by the relative effectiveness of non-binding recommendations.
To access the action plan: https://bit.ly/2MMF4z5
To consult the annex with all initiatives: https://bit.ly/3bYVc96 (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)