Brussels, 07/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - The Institut de la Protection sociale européenne (IPSE) celebrated its 15th anniversary on 23 December 2004 in Brussels in the presence of the newly elected President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Anne-Marie Sigmund. At the same time, it held its 29th meeting on the subject of the future of social Europe and social protection in an ever-changing world.
During the meeting, participants underlined the crucial nature of social protection in a market economy as an essential part of the way society works. According to Vladimir Rys, the former Secretary General of the International Social Security Association (ISSA, Geneva), social Europe aims to be "the guardian of the temple, because even the oldest institutions in society can decline and sink into oblivion if we allow ourselves to distort their concepts and divert them from the pursuit of their original purpose". Jérôme Vignon, Director of DG Employment at the European Commission, described social protection as "an inescapable part of the employment, competitiveness and social cohesion triangle". Pierre Defraigne, Deputy Director General of DG Trade at the European Commission, said that "Europe must (…) equip itself with the power to weigh things up in global governance. But", he said, the ceiling on the Community budget which some Member States want "does not go in this direction, nor in the direction of enhanced solidarity".
The representatives of the European institutions discussed the place that social issues have in Europe and that European social values have at international level, and the European social partners once again emphasised their priorities, which can be summed up by the key words employability, lifelong learning, flexibility and open method of coordination. In conclusion, the economist Alain Euzeby recalled that "the economy is merely an instrument serving human values. But an instrument should not dictate law". (Acts resulting from this work will soon be available on the website http://www.euroipse.org ).