Resolution on the Commission communication entitled ‘Strengthening the social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)'

The European Parliament adopted by 387 votes to 64 with 58 abstentions a resolution tabled by the Committee on Employment, welcoming the Commission communication entitled ‘Strengthening the social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)’, and considered it to be a first step towards building a social dimension of the EMU. It recognised explicitly that the implementation of the social dimension of the EMU is subject to the subsidiarity principle and could be best achieved through the best practice method and the peer review method at European level. Noting that unemployment in the EU has reached the alarming level of 26.6 million people, and 24.2 % of the EU population is currently at risk of poverty or social exclusion, Members urged that social considerations be placed at the core of European integration and mainstreamed into all EU policies and initiatives. They invited the December 2013 European Council to define the steps forward in terms of strengthening the social aspect of the EMU. They rejected any harmonisation or alignment which results in the minimisation of social standards in Member States.

Parliament supported the proposed establishment of a scoreboard of key employment and social indicators complementary to the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure (MIP) with a view to making the social consequences of economic and other policies more transparent through ex ante and ex post impact assessments or monitoring, and which could be used in the drafting of the Commission’s Joint Employment Report (JER).

It made the following comments on the indicators;

·        all relevant indicators should be gender-sensitive;

·        the proposed indicator on youth unemployment levels should include young people up to the age of 30 on a voluntary basis, as provided for by the Youth Guarantee;

·        the scoreboard should include indicators relating to child poverty levels, access to healthcare, homelessness, and a decent work index in order to allow proper assessment of the social situation in the EU;

·        Parliament and the social partners ought to be involved in defining the employment and social indicators;

·        there must be concrete benchmarks for the employment and social indicators in the form of an EU social protection floor, with a view to promoting upward social convergence and social progress;

·        the proposed indicators were a possible way of ensuring comprehensive coverage of the Member States’ employment and social situations.

The Commission and Commission are asked to:

·        take concrete action to make the social impact of policies and reforms more transparent, through the ex ante and ex post impact assessment and monitoring of policy reforms;

·        monitor the compliance of all Member State reports with Europe 2020 targets, notably with regard to poverty reduction and employment, and to look carefully at the interconnections and interdependence between policies.

Members welcomed the call for optimum use of the EU budget with a view to developing the social dimension of the EMU and further supporting voluntary worker mobility in order to derive maximum benefit from the EU’s employment potential.

Parliament also welcomed the proposed involvement of the social partners in the European Semester process, inter alia in the framework of the Social Dialogue Committee prior to the adoption of the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) each year, although it called for even greater involvement of the social partners in economic governance. It considered that good governance of the EMU and its impact can be effective only if all stakeholders, were involved.

Lastly, Parliament called on the Commission better to integrate Parliament’s resolution of 23 October 2013 European Semester for economic policy coordination, the Commission communication of 2 October 2013 and this resolution in the drafting of the 2014 AGS.