Briefing 337-2015
Ref. Ares(2015)2362419 - 05/06/2015
Ref. Ares(2019)3387279 - 23/05/2019
Meeting with Mr. Jan De volder and Dr. Zucconi – Sant'Egidio, 15/06/2015
Briefing file for Commissioner Thyssen
Meeting with Mr Jan De Volder and Dr Zucconi,
Community of Sant'Egidio
Brussels, 15 June 2015
Scene-setter
The meeting has been requested by Mr Jan De Volder (Head of the Brussels Office of
Sant'Egidio) and Dr Cesare Zucconi (Secretary-General of the Community of
Sant'Egidio), following your visit to the Community of Sant'Egidio in Antwerp in spring
2014. The objective is to discuss social exclusion and poverty, which are important
issues for them.
The Community of Sant'Egidio is an international movement committed to solidarity with
the most defenceless of the poor. At local level, it provides after-school services for
children from underprivileged neighbourhoods, language classes for adult migrants,
soup kitchens for the homeless and visits to the elderly.
Mr De Volder and Dr Zucconi will be accompanied by Ms
(Liaison Officer
of their Brussels Office).
Main topics on the agenda:
1.
Reducing poverty and social exclusion: policy
2.
Reducing poverty and social exclusion: financial instruments (ESF, FEAD)
3.
Socio-economic integration of migrants
Speaking points
Topic 1. Reducing Poverty and social exclusion: policy
• I am deeply concerned that, instead of moving towards our Europe
2020 poverty target, we are drifting in the opposite direction. The
population at risk of poverty or social exclusion has increased by
more than 6 million since 2008, affecting one in four persons
(24.5%).
• We have also seen increasing divergence between and within the
Member States across the EU. Labour markets become
increasingly polarised between high- and low-income jobs,
triggering more and more inequality and poverty.
• Young adults, inactive or unemployed women, lone mothers,
migrants, people with a migrant background and older working-
age adults outside the labour market are among those at a higher
risk of persistent poverty.
• We believe that growth, jobs and rebalancing the economic and
social agenda are necessary to give new impetus to the European
project; driving a job-rich recovery with better access to decent
jobs for all and fostering upwards social convergence is the
highest priority for us.
• In fact, the European countries with the most effective social
protection systems are also among the most successful and
competitive in the world. This is also what drives the idea of
inclusive growth in the Europe 2020 Strategy.
• This is why we continue to recommend labour market and social
protection reforms as part of the EU’s economic policy
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coordination. This year the European Semester process has
focused even more on challenges of the labour market and social
protection.
• The policies that have been recommended to Member States
broadly aim at:
• modernising the legislative framework so that labour markets
are flexible enough to deal with today's changing working
conditions;
• modernising labour market policies to activate and support
unemployed people;
• shifting tax from labour to other bases, in particular for lower
incomes;
• improving access to education and training systems and
matching skills to labour market needs;
• making social protection systems more sustainable so that they
continue to support, protect and enable people throughout their
lives.
• Progress in reforms in these key areas would make labour
markets in the Member States more resilient and social protection
systems more adapted to protect against modern risks.
•
Topic 2. Reducing Poverty and social exclusion: financial
instruments
2.1 The European Social Fund (ESF)
• We are all very well aware of the severe budgetary constraints
many of our Member States are currently facing. That is why it
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is absolutely crucial to ensure the most efficient and effective
use of the ESF.
• The ESF is
the EU financial instrument to support the
creation of more and better jobs and to build a more
inclusive society in line with the Europe 2020 strategy.
• This is why the EU and its Member States have made
support
for the most disadvantaged people a key priority for the
programming period 2014-2020. To this end, Member States
are committed to
dedicate at least 20 % of their budgets for
2014-2020 ESF projects and measures to promote social
inclusion, combat poverty and discrimination. The majority
of the Member States has in fact exceeded this, allocating a
quarter of their budgets on social inclusion measures.
• This is not only a reaction to increasing inequalities inside the
EU, but also a recognition of the model on which the EU should
build its future prosperity – allowing everyone to contribute and
everyone to benefit.
The ESF can support a wide range of measures in the field of
social inclusion, including measures to strengthen the
employability of those furthest from the labour market, to
support the socio-economic integration of marginalised groups,
such as Roma, to combat discrimination via awareness-raising
and empowering activities with local communities, and to
enhance access to affordable, sustainable and high quality
services.
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The ESF can also support labour market inclusion of the
homeless and provide a number of services to foster a
progressive integration in the labour market and to support
training of staff of homelessness organisations
.
• Another important element is the framework for supporting
social entrepreneurship, combining the European Social Fund,
the European Regional Development Fund and new EU-level
support instruments under the so-called EASI programme. This
should help new social enterprises to get off the ground and
grow, contributing not only to social cohesion and employment
of society’s most vulnerable members, but also to addressing
other challenges such as energy efficiency and population
ageing.
• Using the ESF well is about working together. A lot of the
necessary policies can only be developed and implemented at
national regional and local level. Indeed, experience has taught
us that very often the regional and local levels are those who
can most efficiently deal with issues such as poverty and social
exclusion because they are often closer to the people's needs.
In fact I believe that a lot can be done to work through networks
at regional and local level.
• I would also like to invite you to use the European Code of
Conduct on Partnership. The Code aims to maximise the
impact of EU funds on the ground by ensuring that
implementation and evaluation of the European Structural and
Investment Funds will involve all relevant partners including
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public authorities, social partners and bodies representing civil
society at national, regional and local levels throughout the
whole programme cycle.
2.2. The Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD)
• Some people are so far from the labour market that they cannot
benefit from the activation measures of the ESF. The FEAD,
with a budget of EUR 3.8 billion, has been created for them.
• The FEAD thus covers a gap in EU cohesion policy, by
helping
the most vulnerable people through tangible aid. Via
FEAD
we support Member States to provide food, clothing and other
essential items for personal use. FEAD can also finance
activities to promote the social inclusion of the most
deprived.
• I am pleased to say that we have now adopted all our
programmes for the use of that Fund in Member States. The
focus now is on selecting partners, initiating purchasing and
distribution cycles, and putting appropriate procedures and
control systems in place.
• The success of the Fund will depend greatly on these efforts by
EU countries. The role of partner organisations will be crucial to
ensure that the food or clothing reaches those most in need –
that is, to ensure fairness.
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Topic 3. The Socio-economic integration of migrants
• Migrants throughout Europe find themselves at greater risk of
poverty and social exclusion and are more likely to be employed in
positions that underutilize their skills. They are less likely than the
natives to progress professionally and socially.
• The three major challenges they face are
discrimination (notably
but not only on the labour market),
education (which does not play
its role of promoting social mobility) and
recognition of diplomas or
competences (which results in the waste of human capital).
• This Commission has set the issue of migration amongst its top
priorities and last month adopted a European Agenda on
Migration.
• This Agenda aims to address both the urgent challenges of the
crisis in the Mediterranean and to provide a comprehensive
response to the structural problems of migration in Europe.
• In this respect, it is very important to improve the framework for
legal migration, as Europe is in a global competition to attract
talent. Europe’s population is ageing, which augurs increasing
difficulties due to labour and skill shortages. To this end, the
Agenda sets the framework for concrete actions in the short and
medium term. This includes a platform of dialogue on economic
migration to include input from national administrations social
partners and other stakeholders.
• At the same time, it is clear that we need to ensure that the
integration policies in place are effective. The European Social
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Fund is providing up to €70 billion to finance social and
employment support programmes. 20% of this amount - around
€14 billion- is specifically earmarked to promoting social inclusion
and reducing poverty. We will actively support Member States and
other stakeholders involved in the implementation of these
projects to ensure that they meet their objective.
• However, the success mainly depends on the close cooperation of
national governments, local authorities and civil society. Indeed,
your role is crucial in implementing and making this Agenda a
success on the ground.
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Background
1. Poverty and social exclusion
What is the issue?
• The EU headline poverty and social exclusion target, set in 2010, is to have at
least 20 million fewer people in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion in 2020,
thus reducing poverty from 116.8 million people in 2008 (latest data available
when the target was set) to 96.4 million in 2020.
• Latest data available shows that poverty and social exclusion has increased to
almost 123 million.
• Member States' ambition levels in reducing poverty and social exclusion, as
defined by their national targets which they have to set to achieve the Europe
2020 target, are in many cases very low. This lack of ambition is due to the fact
that Member States were allowed to set their targets on the basis of their relative
starting positions and national circumstances.
• The freedom of Member States to depart from definitions agreed for use at EU
level for their own national poverty targets has led to difficulty in evaluating the
cumulative ambition of MS versus the 20 million target at the EU level. It has also
led to some Member States not developing national integrated strategies for
tackling poverty.
• EU Member States are facing both short-term and structural challenges that are
threatening the sustainability and adequacy of their social models.
• Many Member States are experiencing increasing poverty, inequalities and long
term labour market exclusion, though there are significant divergences across
the EU. These challenges existed before the crisis, and have been further
exacerbated. Most Member States are currently off-track towards reaching the
2020 target to reduce poverty and social exclusion.
• Moreover, in the context of the crisis, many Member States are experiencing
increased fiscal constraints.
• In addition, demographic pressures, namely an ageing population and a
shrinking working age population, are leading to further pressure on public
budgets and posing challenges to long-term financing of our social protection
systems.
What are we doing?
• In February 2013, the Commission adopted the
Social Investment Package
(SIP). It provides guidance to Member States on how to adapt their social models
to the challenges above, with a view to achieving the smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth objective of the Europe 2020 Strategy.
• The Package consists of a Communication setting out an integrated policy
framework, actions to be taken by Member States and the Commission, and
guidance on the use of EU funds to support reforms. It is accompanied by a
Recommendation on Investing in Children, and seven Staff Working Documents
providing specific guidance in various social policy fields.
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• The package is organised around three principles:
o Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of social protection systems
o Pursue activating and enabling policies, that are joined up as much as
possible and adapted to people’s unique situations
o Pursue timely, preventative approaches to reduce the need for remedial
intervention
Implementation
• The European Semester process has pursued an integrated EU-level approach
to steering and monitoring Member States’ reforms aimed at addressing poverty
and exclusion as well as reforms in the economic and employment fields. The
Country-Specific Recommendations have been especially useful in providing
guidance, based on the specific Member States' contexts.
• The guidance of the Social Investment Package is informing the European
Semester exercises by feeding into the Commission’s selection of priorities in the
Annual Growth Survey and development of Country-Specific Recommendations.
• Commitment for improved cooperation and coordination of social policies, in the
framework of the social Open Method of Coordination, has been strengthened. It
has led to more structured and comparable monitoring of the social situation in
MSs and across the EU through new instruments such as the Social Protection
Performance Monitor.
• The European Social Fund, as well as other EU funding instruments such as the
European Regional Development Fund, the Employment and Social Innovation
programme, and the new European Fund for Aid to the Most Deprived are vital
financial instruments to support the reforms towards social investment.
• The focus is now on effective implementation of this guidance by the
Commission and the Member States. In addition to mobilising its governance
framework and funds, the Commission has committed itself to several specific
initiatives to support Member States’ efforts, synthesised in an Implementation
Roadmap.
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families), avoid inactivity traps and ensure sufficient redistribution towards those in lower
income. Yet, even if social protection reduces child poverty by 40% on average in the
EU, its efficiency and effectiveness varies importantly across countries.
Pillar 2: Children, and in particular the most disadvantaged, need also
access to
quality services that can have a crucial impact on their development. Among these,
early childhood education and care ECEC) play an essential role in reducing inequality
from the start. Unfortunately those children who would benefit the most from quality
ECEC have generally lower access: for instance, in BG, EL, HU, IT, PT, SK, CZ, FR, PL,
RO and ES on average only one out of two Roma children attends pre-school or
kindergarten6.
Social inequalities persist across the EU also in children's health outcomes. These
inequalities are linked to their social, psychological and physical environment but also to
the organisation of health systems, in particular health coverage and early prevention
programmes. 11 % of the children at risk of poverty do not eat fresh fruit or vegetables
once a day because the household cannot afford it, against 3 % for the rest of the
population7.
Children from disadvantaged families are overrepresented in the estimated 1 million
children in alternative care across Europe. More can be done to ensure that poverty is
not the only reason for removing a child from their family, through for instance the
development of parenting support services. When alternative care is identified as the
last resort solution, it is essential to ensure that children are placed in a supportive
environment which is as close as possible to a family setting, and benefit from adequate
help during their transition to adulthood.
Pillar 3: Child participation in after-school activities and through the right to be heard
are both important to break the cycle of disadvantage. Such activities can compensate
for immaterial deprivation and lack of pedagogical stimulus by the parents. All children
should benefit from extra-curricular activities such as sports and social clubs and cultural
programmes. The right to be heard is crucial when it comes to involving children early
on in social services and legal decisions that affect them.
Cyclical challenges: addressing the crisis' consequences
Key services and policies supporting children have been by budget cuts, through tighter
eligibility and cuts or freezes in the level of benefits. There are signs that the most
universal forms of child allowances are being abandoned or cut in a number of countries
(UK, CY, EL), shifting support measures towards those most in need. In this context, it is
essential to sustain investment in children and families and to continue assessing how
policy reforms affect the most disadvantaged.
6 Commission Staff Working Document, "Progress towards the common European objectives in
education and training-Indicators and benchmarks-2010/2011", SEC(2011)526
7 Social Protection Committee (2012) 'Tackling child poverty and social exclusion, promoting
child well-being', see table p. 27. Data are based on the 2009 EU SILC module on material
deprivation.
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to provide targeted investment and focused on EU policies on employment, structural
reforms, skills and education, social inclusion and efficiency of public administrations.
In order to increase the effectiveness of investments in the Member States in the area of
inclusive growth of the Europe 2020 strategy, they must, in particular, comply before the
adoption of the operational programmes (or, failing that, details of their action plans to
the provisions on
macroeconomic conditionality. This involves, for example, setting
up a national strategic policy framework for poverty reduction,...)
Minimum thresholds
The ESF’s budget has increased substantially compared to the previous programming
period (2007-2013).
— For the first time, a
minimum share for the ESF within the total allocation of
cohesion policy has been set up. It accounts for a minimum of 23.1 % of the financial
envelope for cohesion policy. In reality, the ESF share of the cohesion policy budget
was 24.8 % or 86,4 billion euro.
—
Earmarking of 20 % of the ESF on social inclusion was also
significantly
exceeded (25.5 % on the basis of the latest versions of the OP submitted to the
European Commission).
The scope of ESF intervention
The 4 thematic objectives of the ESF are aimed at achieving the social objectives of the
Europe 2020 strategy (employment, poverty reduction and early school leaving) namely:
•
Promoting sustainable and quality employment and supporting labour
mobility
•
Promoting social inclusion, combating poverty and any discrimination 9 Within this thematic objective, there are 6 investment priorities (IP).
— The IP on “active inclusion” is about integrated and progressive pathways to
enhance employability of those furthest from the labour market. This aims firstly
to strengthen the participation of disadvantaged people in society and empower
them (e.g. via the learning of social skills, increasing self-confidence, language
courses) and secondly to support activation measures towards the labour market
(through guidance, education and vocational training, coaching and mentoring),
together with the provision of social services (such as childcare services, for
example).
— The IP on increased access to services allows the financing of a broad scope
of actions for the homeless such as:
Integrated support including psychological assistance, counselling
centres, multi-purpose centres, anti-eviction programmes;
Support for the training of the service providers working with homeless
people, including volunteers;
The establishment and development of apprenticeships, vocational
training and actions related to the social economy in order to facilitate the
integration of homeless people in the labour market.
— Under the IP on community-led local development, local action groups
(including public and private organisations, local authorities, NGOs and
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companies) prepare, lead and drive local strategies to develop the economic and
social attractiveness of local territories. The ESF can complement activities
implemented in the context of such local strategies and support capacity building
of relevant actors.
•
Investing in education, training and vocational training for skills and
lifelong learning
•
Enhancing institutional capacity of public authorities and stakeholders and
efficient public administration
4) The Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD)
The EU has provided food aid to its most needy citizens for over a quarter of a century.
This began in 1987 with the Food Distribution programme for the Most Deprived
Persons of the Community (MDP), which channelled food provisions free of charge
through a number of organisations in direct contact with the targeted recipients.
The newly established FEAD allows Member States to continue providing vital food aid,
while making sure that people receiving assistance are also offered support in view of
their social reintegration or providing social inclusion measures.
The Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) supports actions carried out by
EU countries to provide
material assistance to the most deprived.
This includes food,
clothing and other essential goods for personal use such as shoes, soap and shampoo.
Material assistance needs to go hand in hand with
social inclusion measures, such as
guidance and support to help people out of poverty.
National authorities may also support measures
non-material assistance for the most
deprived people, helping them to better integrate into society.
How does the FEAD work?
The new Fund offers
considerable flexibility to Member States in terms of procuring
and distributing assistance for the most deprived. They can plan their programmes
for 2014-20 on the basis of their national situations and needs and their institutional set
up.
There are two types of operational programmes under the FEAD:
- The
food and/or basic material assistance programme (OP I) supports the
distribution of food and goods to the most deprived.
- The
social inclusion operational programme (OP II) on the other hand finances the
provision of social inclusion measures to the most deprived.
While most of the EU Member States (24) will implement an OP I, 4 MS have decided to
implement an OP II.
The European Commission approves the national programmes for 2014-20, and
national authorities then decide on the delivery of the assistance through partner
organisations, which are public or non-governmental bodies. Partner organisations are
selected by Member States on the basis of objective and transparent criteria.
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What are the resources available?
In real terms, over
EUR 3,8 billion are earmarked for the FEAD for the 2014-2020
period. In addition, EU countries must
co-finance at least 15 % of the costs of their
national programmes.
How does the FEAD complement the European Social Fund (ESF)?
The FEAD will help the most deprived people in taking their first steps out of poverty and
social exclusion. It will help to meet their most basic needs, a precondition to enable
them to find a job or training, particularly those financed by the ESF.
ESF/FEAD allocation by Member State (in million EUR — current prices)
Ms
ESF
FEAD
Belgium
1.028.719.649
73.821.504
BG
1.521.627.776
104.815.264
CZ
3.430.003.238
23.329.849
DK
206.615.841
3.944.660
From
7.495.616.321
78.893.211
EE
586.977.010
8.002.026
IE
542.436.561
22.766.327
EL
3.690.994.021
280.972.531
ES
7.589.569.137
563.410.224
FR
6.026.907.278
499.281.315
HR
1.516.033.073
36.628.990
It
10.468.389.895
670.592.285
CY
128.988.887
3.944.660
LV
638.555.428
41.024.469
LT
1.127.284.104
77.202.641
LU
20.056.223
3.944.660
HU
4.712.139.925
93.882.921
MT
105.893.448
3.944.660
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NL
507.318.228
3.944.660
At
442.087.353
18.032.733
PL
13.192.164.238
473.359.260
PT
7.543.112.269
176.946.201
RO
4.774.035.918
441.013.044
If
716.924.970
20.512.235
SK
2.167.595.080
55.112.543
FI
515.357.139
22.540.916
SE
774.349.654
7.889.321
UK
4.942.593.693
3.944.660
Total
86.412.346.357
3.813.697.770
Contacts:
(EMPL D1)
(EMPL D2)
(EMPL E1)
(EMPL E1)
Coordination:
(EMPL 01)
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Electronically signed on 23/05/2019 15:54 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563