Annexes to COM(2017)250 - Establishing a European Pillar of Social Rights

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dossier COM(2017)250 - Establishing a European Pillar of Social Rights.
document COM(2017)250 EN
date April 26, 2017
Agreement on active ageing and an intergenerational approach signed by EU level social partners in March 2017 is exemplary of how social partners can contribute to better governance and more effective social and economic reforms.

Monitoring progress within the European Semester for economic policy coordination

Social considerations have been mainstreamed and reinforced in the European Semester for economic policy coordination since the start of the mandate of this Commision. The analysis and recommendations will reflect and promote the principles enshrined in the Pillar by assessing, monitoring and comparing the progress made towards their implementation. Benchmarking and exchange of best practices will be conducted for a number of areas, such as employment protection legislation, unemployment benefits, minimum wages, minimum income and skills. 20 Monitoring of progress will be supported by the new social scoreboard, which consists of a limited number of existing indicators of importance to assess employment and social trends. 21  The scoreboard will be dicussed with the relevant Council committees, with a view to its incoporation in the annual Joint Employment Report published each autumn in the framework of the European Semester. It could also become a reference point for the efforts made on the social dimension of the euro area and of Europe more generally.


Drawing conclusions for the completion of Europe's Economic and Monetary Union

The European Pillar of Social Rights is part of the efforts to launch a new process of convergence within the EMU. It lies in the conviction that convergence towards better socio-economic outcomes, social resilience and fairness is the necessary foundation for a more integrated and stable Europe and that this is an urgency for the sustainability of the Economic and Monetary Union. Looking ahead, the future success of the euro area depends, in no small measure, on the effectiveness of national labour markets and welfare systems and on the capacity of the economy to swiftly absorb and adjust to shocks and to effectively tackle their social implications. It also depends on the capacity of national economies to improve living standards and growth potential. This requires high quality education and training and well-functioning labour markets, allowing for a smooth allocation of resources, but also well-designed social protection systems to be in place in order to provide effective automatic stabilisation, prevent and reduce poverty, and support labour market reintegration. In line with the Five Presidents' Report, some of the principles and rights established by the Pillar could serve the purpose of more binding standards in line with the process of EMU deepening.

EU financial support

EU funds, in particular the European Social Fund, will continue to support the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. In particular, the 2014-2020 operational programmes in the framewok of the European Structural and Investment Funds, as well as other key financial programmes such as the Youth Employment Initiative, Erasmus+, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived will play a key role to support many principles of the Pillar. The Pillar will also be a reference for the design of the post-2020 EU financial programming period. The Commission will work closely with the Member States, local and regional authorities to make sure that future EU funding is targeted to the identified priorities and that Member States set up the necessary structures to ensure that these funds can be fully tapped on where they are needed the most.


5. Conclusion

The consultation on the European Pillar of Social Rights has highlighted the breadth of the social and economic issues facing Europe and the euro area in particular, but it has also confirmed the commonalities of challenges and the shared need to act, together and urgently, to get Europe back on track towards a more inclusive economic growth and greater social cohesion. These efforts are part and parcel of the broader political and economic agenda initiated at European level to respond and overcome the crisis of the last decade.

The European Pillar of Social Rights puts forward concrete principles and rights, to be concretised at EU and national level. It puts the citizens first, and sets out a shared way forward for equal opportunities and access to the labour market, fair working conditions and social protection and inclusion. These principles and rights are also essential for the broader debate on the future of the EU27.

The Member States, their public authorities, social partners at all levels and the EU Institutions share a common responsibility to work for a more prosperous and fair Europe, where economic and social developments go hand in hand. The Pillar sets markers for future actions, with a series of EU initiatives presented today as part of this package. The Commission will continue to work very closely with the European Parliament and the Council to facilitate the proclamation of the Pillar, and with stakeholders to follow it up at all levels.


(1)

See Political Guidelines for the next European Commission, "A New Start for Europe: My Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change", 15 July 2014.

(2)

 See COM(2016) 127 final of 8 March 2016.

(3)

 See results from the public consulation in the accompanying document SWD(2017) 206 of 26 April 2017.

(4)

 See Five Presidents’ Report on Completing Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union of 22 June 2015.

(5)

See COM(2017) 2025 of 1 March 2017.

(6)

See COM(2017) 206 of 26 April 2017.

(7)

 See SWD(2017) 201 of 26 April 2017.

(8)

See SWD(2017) 200 of 26 April 2017.

(9)

2016/2095(INI).

(10)

CDR 2868/2016.

(11)

SOC/542-01902-00-01-ac.

(12)

Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and the UK.

(13)

See SWD(2017) 206 of 26 April 2017.

(14)

See "Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union", Report by Jean-Claude Juncker, in cooperation with Donald Tusk, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Mario Draghi and Martin Schulz, June 2015.

(15)

See SWD (2017) 201, of 26 April 2017. The principles enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights concern Union citizens and third country nationals with legal residence.

(16)

See COM (2017) 12 of 10 January 2017.

(17)

 See SWD (2017) 201 of 26 April 2017.

(18)

COM(2016) 356 of 2 June 2016.

(19)

C(2017)  2601  of 26 April 2017.

(20)

Work is already ongoing with the Council committees on these particular areas.

(21)

 See SWD(2017) 200, of 26 April 2017.