Presentation by Antonia Carparelli, (acting director Europe 2020 Social Policies, DG EMPL) during the public hearing on Strengthening EU cohesion and EU social policy coordination through the new horizontal social clause in Article 9 TFEU on 13.04.2011

1. EESC hearing on the OMC and
the Social Clause
Brussels, 13 April 2011
Antonia Carparelli, Acting Director,
Europe 2020 Social Policies
DG Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion

2. Social inclusion in European perspective
• 2000 - The Lisbon Strategy and the EU social
inclusion Strategy:
– “to make a decisive impact on the eradication of
poverty”
– a method: the Open Method of Coordination
– “Programmes to fight social exclusion” (PROGRESS
as of 2007)
• 2006 - The EU Social Protection and Social
Inclusion Process: a modernisation agenda
– Integrating 3 policy strands: social inclusion, pension
reforms, health care
• 2010 - Europe 2020: a strategy for smart,
sustainable and inclusive growth

3. 2009: The Lisbon Treaty
• The Union’s objectives include: “a highly competitive social market
economy, full employment and social progress”.
• Art 5 - The coordination of Member States’ economic policies and
employment policies is now within the sphere of competence of the
Union, which can also extend to coordination of social policies.
• Art 9 ( “social clause”) - Social goals such as the promotion of
a high level of employment, adequate social protection, the
fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education,
training and health must be taken into account when defining
and implementing all policies.
• Two other “horizontal clauses” (art. 8 and 10) extend the scope of
“social mainstreaming” to the reduction of inequality and the fight
against discrimination.
• Incorporation of a legally binding reference to the Nice Charter of
fundamental rights.
• Protocol 26 on Services of General Interest.

4. Social clause: Article 9 TFEU
Paves the way for:
• Better mainstreaming of social protection and inclusion objectives
in all EU initiatives and policies
• A more balanced development of economic integration and the
social dimension of the EU
To be implemented by:
• Assessing employment and social impacts of EU initatives
• Promoting integrated impact assessment at national level

5. However….
The new provisions of the Lisbon Treaty
will require time, intellectual and political
mobilization, litigation and jurisprudence in
order to become effective as re-balancing
tools.
(Maurizio Ferrera, 2010)

6. Governance of the Europe 2020 strategy
Europe 2020 five headline targets
Stability and
Europe 2020 Integrated Guidelines (IG) Growth Pact
Macro-economic Thematic Fiscal
surveillance surveillance surveillance
National Stability and
National level Reform Convergence
Programmes Programmes
Commission’s Annual Growth Survey
EU level EU annual policy guidance and recommendations
EU flagship initiatives and levers

7. Targets
EU headline target Current estimation
based on draft NRPs
Employment (20-64) 75% 72.8-73.8%
R&D (% EU GDP) 3% 2.7-2.8%
-Tertiary at least 40% 38.1%
achievement (30-34) 11.3%
- School drop-out under 10%
Social inclusion/fight 20 million people out Target will not be met,
against poverty of poverty but exact calculation N/A
Energy efficiency 20% 10%
increase

8. 114 Million people
at risk of poverty or exclusion
80 Mio people 40 Mio people
at risk of materially
poverty deprived
40 Mio people
in workless households
Million people
People at-risk-of-poverty 78
+ Those materially deprived, not at-risk-of-poverty 20
+ Those living in a workless household, not at-risk-of-poverty, not 16
deprived
Total: People at-risk-of poverty or exclusion 114

9. Instruments available: overview
• Social policy is still and will remain to a large
extent national competence competence but a
number of instruments are available at EU level:
– Laws on social and employment standards
– Charter of fundamental rights
– Anti-discrimination directives EU Funds (ESF,
European Globalisation Adjustment Fund,
PROGRESS)
• Open Method of Coordination
– Policy coordination between MS based on common
objectives, indicators, regular reporting, joint
assessment and mutual learning

10. European Platform against Poverty
and Exclusion
• Delivering actions across the policy spectrum
• Greater and more effective use of EU funds to
support social inclusion
• Promoting evidence-based social innovation
• Working in partnership and harnessing the
potential of social economy
• Enhanced policy coordination among
Member States

11. OMC key lessons learned
• Evaluation study of the Social OMC
– Interviews, case studies and content analysis
• Main results
– A driver of policy change in all MSs
– Governance changes at the domestic level
– Objectives: broad but useful
– Indicators: the basis for comparison

12. OMC key lessons learned (2)
• Reporting: administrative burden with positive
effects
• Joint assessments: useful but little known
• Thematic approach had more substantive effects
• Mutual learning exercises: sources of ideas for
insiders
• Involvement of stakeholders: a mixed picture

13. The future of the social OMC
• Commission to work with Member States and stakeholders to adapt
working methods of the OMC to governance of Europe 2020 and
best combine:
– Integration and focus
– Continuity and innovation
– Simplification and accountability
– Coordination and subsidiarity
• Strengthening existing partnerships and involving new actors
(institutional actors, social partners, regional/local authorities,
NGOs…)
– Voluntary guidelines on stakeholders’ involvement and participation of
people experiencing poverty (2012)
– Regular dialogue on thematic priorities
– Social experimentation and innovation to enhance mutual learning

14. CESE Recommendations
• "The EC should systematically strengthen the role of
social evaluation within its Impact Assessment (IA)
system.
• “It is important to promote the involvement of
stakeholders in the IA process”
• "The SPC has a potentially major role to play in
ensuring a strong social dimension for the Europe 2020
Strategy and, more generally, in implementing a more
Social EU".
• “Use SPC annual report covering an assessment of
progress towards the EU headline target on social
inclusion and poverty reduction to feed into EC Annual
Growth Survey and EU policy guidance and possible
"social recommendations" to Member States on their
NRPs”.

15. Further information
General Europe 2020
http://ec.europa.eu/news/economy/index_de
.htm
Social protection & social inclusion
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=e
n&catId=750