Chantilly, 11/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - Meeting informally on Friday 11 July in Chantilly, under the chairmanship of Xavier Bertrand - the French minister for labour, social relations, family and solidarity, the EU27 employment and social affairs ministers began their day with a working breakfast on the theme “Ideas for a social Europe” with Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimir Spidla.
According to the French secretary of state for the family, Nadine Morano, the aim of this working session is to “reach firm ideas and express them”. One could feel the ministers' determination to build a Europe with firm objectives that can be understood by the citizens, Ms Moreno said. The fact that Europe “seems” far from the citizens provoked reaction among the political class. The Greek minister thus spoke of the need for better communication to get the message across to European citizens that one is today living in an area that is not only an area of peace, where the rate of unemployment is low on average, but also an area of prosperity. The Irish minister spoke of the Irish no-vote to the Treaty, calling for attention to be paid to the fact that Ireland is not to be put to one side of Europe but is to be at its side. The results of a survey on why the Irish vote was negative show that “local situations brought about the no vote as well as concerns about the price of petrol”. In Ireland, the Irish minister said, there is a real will to build Europe.
During the morning, ministers discussed the idea of a “concrete Europe” and a social Europe and the ways and means to come closer to Europe's citizens. They spoke with social partners and the representatives of the social platform about discussions on the direction to be taken in coming months (see related article). European ministers then took part in round tables on specific themes: the first on globalisation and climate change. Xavier Bertrand said that France's working method in this area was “clear”. It is based on social dialogue with social partners and on dialogue with members of the civil society that is to be tomorrow's “driving force for Europe”. “On all these subjects, we shall continue to work hand in hand and our door will always be open to proposals that show a positive way forward for citizens when it comes to a social Europe”, said Nadine Morano.
During the second round table dedicated to demography, ministers discussed “best practice”. The German minister for the family, Ursula von der Leyen, said she was working on the drafting of a document on “exchange for learning and moving forward together”. The need to reconcile family and professional life was mentioned, as was working hours for women. “In France alone, 40% of women stop working because they cannot find a nursery to look after their children”, said Ms Morano, adding that there should be proper reconciliation between professional and private life, and saying it was essential to set targets.
Martin Hirsch, High Commissioner for Active Solidarity against Poverty, stressed the fact that active inclusion “is the European way of being able to reconcile two things: not only employment as a basis for earning a living but also as a dimension of solidarity and integration for those who are the most vulnerable”. It is a concept that is based on three things, Mr Hirsch explained: - the principle of minimum wage, the principle of access to employment (including for those who are the most distant) and the principle of organising social services (to the service of the most vulnerable populations). During the morning exchange of views, several countries requested that priority be given to poor children and to poor workers. All EU countries agree to say that increasing the share of activity in the population of active age is fundamental. Martin Hirsch underlined the fact that Nadine Morano had spoken of targets for poor children and promised to work during the French EU Presidency so that the countries that are very advanced when it comes to targets (on reduction of poverty, poor workers or on disadvantaged populations) should put them on the table. He stressed the importance of “speaking 'method', that is, the choice of best practice” and of testing solutions for fuelling social policies. He announced two meetings: - for the first time, ministers of the 27 member states responsible for poverty will meet mid-October to discuss active inclusion; - and the launching, end November, of a European network of social experimentation with the Commission's support. Finally, the consultant, Bernard Brunhes, presented his paper on “A social agenda for a competitive and united Europe”, which served as the basis for the work of this informal meeting in Chantilly. (G.B./transl.jl)