EU policies and instruments in Income and Social Protection

EU Treaties

Article 34 of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe recognises the “entitlement to social security benefits and social services providing protection in cases such as maternity, illness, industrial accidents, dependency or old age, and in the case of loss of employment”. The same article also recognises the right to “social and housing assistance so as to ensure a decent existence for all those who lack sufficient resources”.

Article 9 of the consolidated version of the Treaties as amended by the Treaty of Lisbon (the so-called social clause) states that: “In defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education, training and protection of human health.”

Article 160 of the same treaty sets up the Social Protection Committee, which discusses and co-ordinates policies in EU member states. Due to its key-importance, the Social Protection Committee is later explained in depth.

Even though recognised by EU fundamental law, competence on income and social protection is rooted deeply in each member state’s national laws and contexts, which means the application of these rights varies immensely from country to country. As such, the EU does not have wide competence in the area of income and social protection.

EU 2020 Targets

Concerns about social protection and income are also present in the EU 2020 strategy. This strategy serves as a policy framework and has ten guidelines (six relating to economic policies and four to employment). Guideline 10sets out the objective of “promoting social inclusion and combating poverty”. Under this guideline, social security and pension systems should be modernised to ensure sustainability, adequate income support and access to healthcare. This EU strategy should lead to at least 20 million fewer people in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion.

The Social Protection Committee and the Open Method of Co-ordination

Article 160 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union sets up the Social Protection Committee which has the task of monitoring the social situation and the development of social protection policies in EU member states. This Committee discusses and (in theory helps) co-ordinates policies in the member states through the Open Method of Co-ordination on Social Protection and Social Inclusion. This voluntary governance process involves agreeing on common objectives and common indicators, providing a framework for national strategy development, as well as for co-ordinating policies between EU countries on issues relating to pensions, poverty, social exclusion, health and long-term care.

Member states translate the common objectives into national plans, which are submitted as National Strategic Reports on Social Protection and Social Inclusion (alongside member states´ National Reform Programmes) which are assessed by the Commission and Council in joint reports. One of the main tools in this respect is the Peer Review Seminars which encourage the dissemination of good practices across member states.

The European Platform Against Poverty

In 2010 the EC set up the European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion (EPAP), civil society´s equivalent of the Social Protection Committee. This meets once a year, for stakeholders to engage in dialogue on selected topics. EPAP aims at setting out actions to reach the EU target of reducing poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million by 2020. In doing so, it focuses on:

• Improving access to work, social security, essential services (healthcare, housing, etc.) and education.
• Better using EU funds to support social inclusion and combat discrimination
• Finding smart solutions (Social innovation) in post-crisis Europe, especially in terms of more effective and efficient social support
• New partnerships between the public and the private sector

PROGRESS

The PROGRESS programme is a financial instrument supporting the development and co-ordination of EU policy in five different areas: Employment, social inclusion and social protection, working conditions, anti-discrimination and gender equality. While its main objective is to help achieving the EU2020 strategy goals, it also promotes shared understanding and ownership of EU objectives; partnerships; effective application of EU rules on worker protection and equality; effective information sharing and learning; evidence-based EU policies and legislation; integration and consistency of cross-cutting issues; greater capacity of national and EU networks; and high-quality and participatory policy debate.

Improving Data and Co-operation

Aware of the importance of co-operation in this area, the European Commission also provides financial support for co-operation between social security institutions, awareness-raising actions on improving citizens’ knowledge on their rights and obligations deriving from the EU Regulations on social security coordination and transnational or national actions for preparing and implementing the system for electronic data exchange (EESSI).

An example of this EU priority is the Mutual Information System on Social Protection (MISSOC), created by the European Commission. This system provides detailed, comparable and regularly updated information about national social protection systems in English, French and German. MISSOC presents comparative tables on 12 main areas of social protection: financing, healthcare, sickness, maternity, invalidity, old-age, survivors, employment injuries and occupational diseases, family, unemployment, guaranteed minimum resources and long-term care.

Another example is the network of experts on European social security: trESS (training and reporting on European Social Security). The trESS network, financed by the EC, consists of independent experts in the field of European social security law. trESS organises specialised seminars and establishes networks between various actors involved in application of social security coordination rules at the national level. These include social security institutions, lawyers, judges, social partners and other experts.

The Social Investment Package

EU countries are urged by the Commission to put more emphasis on social investment. Therefore, the Social Investment Package for Growth and Social Cohesion has been adopted recently. It is meant to improve people’s opportunities to integrate in society and to support their participation in the labour market through the investment in their skills development and capacities. Examples are healthcare, training, job-search assistance and rehabilitation. Social protection systems are required to respond to people’s needs adequately, especially at critical moments during their lives but also before they occur. Therefore, investing in the prevention of hardship is essential. The package is expected to benefit individual prosperity, to boost the economy and to emerge from the current crisis stronger, more cohesive and more competitive.

Statistics

Having up-to-date and accurate statistics is vital for understanding differences between regions, the impact of policies, and development of future strategies. Using the Eurostat, OECD and WHO as sources, the Heidi data tool presents relevant and comparable information on health at European level, namely an indicator on health and income inequality.

Finally, the OECD and the ILO also provide a quite comprehensive set of statistical data on working conditions and the labour market.