Presidents Van Rompuy/Barroso: Statements at the conference on restoring socio-economic convergence in Europe

10 October 2013

Europe can and must do more to strengthen social integration and institutions in view of the social fallout from the crisis and in line with reinforced economic governance. (Includes link to Commissioner Andor speech.)

EU Commission President Barroso said in his statement that "the social dimension is not a new, additional strand, something that we add to what is the core of Europe - the social dimension is an inherent part of the European project and of all that we have done over the years. There is no contradiction between very advanced competitive economies and strong social mechanisms and a strong welfare state. It also happens that those European countries with the most effective social protection systems have the most developed social dialogue partnerships."

President van Rompuy elaborated that stability, fiscal consolidation, reforms were not an aim in themselves but instruments to create well-being and jobs. "Our objective is in essence social. employment is the social dimension par excellence", he said. 

"In the past year, Europe has deployed every effort to restore financial stability and stabilise
its economy. Yet employment remains weak and uneven and the social situation is precarious in a number of countries, with a rise in poverty, inequality or even access to basic healthcare. Growth is a necessary, overwhelmingly important condition for job creation, but not a sufficient one.

"The "social dimension" communication presented by the European Commission last week is a clear step in this direction. It recognises our social interdependence, it highlights the risks posed by social divergences and aims at identifying spillovers between Member States.

"The European Council is well aware both of the social situation across the Union and of the risks it poses. This is why in June, it has already endorsed the principle of a scoreboard of employment and social indicators for the Economic and Monetary Union. In October, we need to go a step further, building on the Social Dimension communication of the European Commission, and make concrete progress on three fronts:

• First, the monitoring of the social and employment situation in Member States, where analytical tools will make the European Semester more comprehensive.
• Second, ensuring that our procedures and our policy coordination exercise is truly used as a basis for improving the coordination of economic, employment and social policies.
• Finally, expanding social dialogue both at the national and the European level to
  ensure a widely shared diagnosis with social partners and a stronger ownership of the
  conclusions of the European Semester.

Full speech by President Barroso © European Commission

Full speech by President van Rompuy © European Council

Video

See also Commissioner Andor: Detecting key employment and social imbalances and challenges in the EMU