Transcript The Position of the Socially Excluded in Europe Breda

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DG Employment, Social Affairs and
Equal Opportunities
Hugh Frazer, Policy Co-ordinator, Social
inclusion policies
The National Action Plan on Social
Inclusion as a Policy Instrument
29th March 2006
The NAP on social inclusion after the
refocusing of the Lisbon strategy: still an
adequate instrument?
1
1
Review of Social Protection/Social
Inclusion Processes - 1
• 2005: a year of uncertainty
• Review Process
– Evaluation Questionnaires
– Luxembourg Conference
– evaluation of Community Action Programme
– learning from NAPs Implementation reports
• Communication on streamlined OMC on
social protection and social inclusion
(December 2005)
Spring European Council 2006 -1
• New strategy for growth and jobs a framework
where economic, employment and social policy
mutually reinforce each other
• Parallel progress on employment creation,
competitiveness and social cohesion
• New objectives and working methods for social
protection and social inclusion endorsed
• Annual reporting on progress to each Spring
European Council
Spring European Council 2006 - 2
• Reaffirms objective that steps have to be
taken to make a decisive impact on the
reduction of poverty and social exclusion
by 2010
• Member States are asked to take
necessary steps to rapidly and significantly
reduce child poverty
Streamlined OMC
• Brings together social inclusion, pensions
and health care and long-term care
• Revised common objectives
– 3 overarching and 3 for each of 3 strands
• National Reports on social protection and
social inclusion
• Annual Joint Report on SP and SI
Streamlining - Overarching
objectives
(a) Promote social cohesion and equal opportunities for all through
adequate, accessible, financially sustainable, adaptable and efficient
social protection systems and social inclusion policies.
(b) Promote effective and mutual interaction with the Lisbon objectives
of greater social cohesion, greater economic growth and more and better
jobs and with the EU's Sustainable Development Strategy.
(c) Promote good governance, transparency and the involvement of
stakeholders in the design, implementation and monitoring of policy.
Streamlining - Objectives for the
Inclusion Strand
A decisive impact on the eradication of poverty and social exclusion
by ensuring:
• access for all to the resources, rights and services needed for
participation in society, preventing and addressing exclusion, and
fighting all forms of discrimination leading to exclusion;
• the active social inclusion of all, both by promoting participation
in the labour market and by fighting poverty and exclusion;
• that social inclusion policies are well-coordinated and involve all
levels of government and relevant actors, including people
experiencing poverty, that they are efficient and effective and
mainstreamed into all relevant public policies, including
economic, budgetary, education and training policies and
structural fund (notably ESF) programmes.
National Reports 2006-2008
• Common Overview (5-7 pages)
– social situation
– overall strategic approach
– overarching messages
• NAPs/inclusion (10-15 pages)
• National Strategy Report for Pensions (3-5
pages)
• National Plan for Health and Long-term care
(10-15 pages)
• Annexes
National Reports 2006-2008
Common Overview
• Assessment of Social Situation (2 pages)
• Overall Strategic Approach (about 4 pages)
4 key areas: child poverty; social inclusion of migrants and minorities;
longer working life; flexicurity
– objective (a)
– objective (b)
– objective (c)
• Overarching Messages (about 1 page)
NAPs/inclusion 2006-2008 –
Guidelines: Key Messages
•
•
•
•
•
•
Implementation Gap
Increase Strategic Focus
Integrated and Multi-dimensional approach
Coordination with other strategies
Improve mainstreaming
Strengthen governance
NAPs/inclusion 2006-2008 –
Guidelines: Structure
• Key Challenges, Objectives and Targets (3-4 pages)
• 3-4 Priority Policy Objectives (2 pages each)
– policy measures (existing and new)
– resource allocation: level and responsibility
– indicators and monitoring
• Better Governance (2-3 pages)
– preparation process; policy coordination; mobilisation;
mainstreaming; monitoring
• Annexes
– good practices (maximum 4)
– implementation report on 2004-2006 NAPs/inclusion (optional)
– elaborated NAPs (optional)
Objective:
e.g. Eliminate Child Poverty or Ensure Inclusion of Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities or Reduce Homelessness
or Increase Access to Employment of Vulnerable Groups or Reduce At-Risk-of-Poverty Levels
Input
or
Output
targets
Indicators
to
measure
progress
Policy Measures
Employment
Economic
Income:
tax,
social
protection
Education &
Training
(incl.
ICT)
Housing,
Environment &
Basic
Services
Health
&
Social/
Family
Services
Culture,
Sport &
Leisure
Transport
Existing
measures
New
measures
Addition-al
resources
Agencies
responsible for
delivery
(national,re
gional,
local)
[1] i.e. policies to fight discrimination on grounds of sex, race/ethnic origin, religion/belief, disability, age and sexual orientation.
Financial
& Legal
Services
Non
Discrim
ination[
1]
Other OMC Developments
• Indicator development
• Exchange of Learning
– Progress
• "Light" Years
– voluntary light updates
– policy reports
• Mainstreaming at EU level
• Awareness raising
• Enlargement and Wider World
Strengths of New Arrangements - 1
• Renewed political leadership
• Mutual interaction with Jobs and Growth
– possibly making the Lisbon Δ real
• Links with Sustainable Development
Strategy
• Enhanced reporting and visibility within the
EU process
Strengths of New Arrangements - 2
• More focussed and strategic
• More emphasis on implementation and
outcomes – address implementation gap
• Further development of indicators
• Greater stress on monitoring and
evaluation of impact
• More specific resourcing (including
structural funds) and accountability
• Multi-dimensional policy making reinforced
Strengths of New Arrangements - 3
• Sharper analysis and stronger "suggestions"
– better data (EU SILC)= better analysis = stronger
comparisons
– more in depth analysis of issues
• Good governance reinforced (and extended to
other strands)
–
–
–
–
–
–
preparation process
policy coordination at all levels of governance
mobilisation of actors
mainstreaming reinforced (nationally and EU)
reinforced monitoring and evaluation
more focus on good practice and learning
BUT
Some Risks - 1
• OMC never was panacea – just a useful tool
• Strength of political commitment and leadership
still to be proven
– will mutual interaction with jobs and growth be taken
seriously?
– will lack of political visibility change?
• Lack of European level targets
• No power to make recommendations
• EU mainstreaming still remains weak
Some Risks - 2
• Timing problem of different government cycles not
solved
• Loss of social inclusion identity in a streamlined process
• Loss of comprehensive/multidimensional approach
– Some issues become forgotten (e.g. access to culture, transport,
sport and recreation)
• Becoming too broad (forgetting about those in extreme
situations) or too narrow in approach (only focussing on
small and very specific groups or just on child poverty)
• Risk of avoiding most difficult issues
– e.g. undocumented migrants
• Capacity to deliver in several Member States
Child Poverty
• An opportunity
– to create greater political ownership and
urgency
– to break intergenerational inheritance
– to address issues of gender, equality,
discrimination, employment etc.
– to focus on rights
Conclusion
• An adequate instrument?
– a more adequate instrument
– provides new opportunities
but
– other things will be important as well, e.g.:
• effective social impact assessments of EU policies
• outcome of debate on services of general interest
• consultation on active inclusion and minimum
income schemes