Luxembourg Presidency Conference on "Taking Forward the EU Social Inclusion Process"
A major EU project in the field of social inclusion
In the context of its Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) during the first semester of 2005, Mrs. Marie-Josée Jacobs, Luxembourg Minister for Family and Integration, instigated a major EU project in the field of social inclusion. The project on "Taking Forward the EU Social Inclusion Process" consisted of two parts: an independent Report prepared by Tony Atkinson, Bea Cantillon, Eric Marlier and Brian Nolan; and a High-Level Presidency Conference organised in Luxembourg City on 13-14 June 2005 with the support of the European Commission. Both parts were linked in that the background document for the whole Conference was an interim version of the independent Report.
The scientific coordination of the whole project was entrusted to the Luxembourg-based CEPS/INSTEAD research institute, and was the responsibility of Tony Atkinson (Nuffield College, Oxford, UK) and Eric Marlier (CEPS/INSTEAD).
At their 22-23 March 2005 meeting, EU Heads of State and Government stated that “It is essential to relaunch the Lisbon Strategy without delay and re-focus priorities on growth and employment” (par 5 of Presidency conclusions). At the same time, they reaffirmed that “Social inclusion policy should be pursued by the Union and by Member States, with its multifaceted approach, focusing on target groups such as children in poverty” (par 36). The aim of the EU Luxembourg Presidency project was to consider the possibilities for advancing the Social Inclusion Process (at both national and EU levels) in this new governance context. More specifically, the key objective of the Report and in-depth Conference discussion was to contribute to ensuring that the focus of the Social Inclusion Process be placed more strongly on implementation of goals, delivery of targeted outcomes and evaluation of results in the light of the set national and EU objectives.
Book
A book on The EU and social inclusion: Facing the challenges has now been released by The Policy Press (in November 2006). Building on the Report and Conference, this book provides an in-depth analysis of the EU Social Inclusion Process and its latest developments (up until June 2006), examines the means by which the Process could meet the EU social cohesion declared objective, and explores the challenges ahead at local, regional, national and EU levels. It sets out concrete proposals for taking the Process forward.
Conference, 13 and 14 June 2005
The final Conference programme, the list of Conference participants, the document summarising the main Conference discussions & conclusions (as presented to the 16 June 2005 meeting of the EU Social Protection Committee) as well as all Conference interventions made available by speakers can be downloaded from this address. The final Report & its annexes are also available at this address as well as at the address of the Luxembourg Ministry for Family and Integration (www.fm.etat.lu).
Opening of conference
Chair: Tom Mulherin, Chair of the EU Social Protection Committee (SPC)
Speakers:
- Marie-Josée Jacobs, Luxembourg Minister in charge of Family and Integration
- Vladimír Špidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, European Commission
- Tony Atkinson, Nuffield College, UK (to outline the Conference programme)
Session a: poverty and social exclusion in the european union
Poverty and social exclusion remain a major challenge to the EU, and we need to consider what lessons can be drawn from the evidence assembled in the EU social indicators.
Chair: Jérôme Vignon, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, European Commission
Speakers:
- Bea Cantillon, University of Antwerp, Belgium (Chapter 3 of the independent report)
- Jonathan Bradshaw, University of York, UK
- Denis Crowley, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, European Commission
- Michel Dollé, Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion (CERC), France
- Robert Erikson, SOFI, Stockholm University, Sweden
- Gilda Farrell, Council of Europe
- Dagmar Kutsar, Tartu University, Estonia
- Irena Topinska, University of Warsaw, Poland
Session b: strengthening policy analysis
Learning "what works" is the key to policy development, and we need to consider how to make use of scientific research on policy analysis at both the national and the EU levels.
Chair: Richard Hauser, University of Frankfurt, Germany
Speakers:
- Tony Atkinson, Nuffield College, UK (Chapter 4)
- Jutta Allmendinger, Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Germany
- Daniela Bobeva, Bulgarian National Bank, Bulgaria
- Mireille Elbaum, DREES, France
- Georg Fischer, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, European Commission
- John Hills, STICERD, London School of Economics, UK
- Mark Pearson, Social Policy Division, OECD
- Holly Sutherland, University of Essex, UK
Session c: EU indicators for poverty and social exclusion
The EU social indicators have developed significantly since Laeken, but a number of areas need to be reviewed in the light of experience and their applicability to a more diverse Union.
Chair: David Stanton, Chairman of the Indicators Sub-Group of the EU Social Protection Committee
Speakers:
- Brian Nolan, ESRI, Ireland (Chapter 5)
- Andrea Brandolini, Bank of Italy, Italy
- Michel Glaude, Eurostat, European Commission
- Magda Mercader, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain
- Heinz-Herbert Noll, ZUMA, Germany
- Tomáš Sirovátka, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
- István Tóth, TÁRKI, Hungary
- Edmunds Vaskis, Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, Latvia
Session d: taking forward the eu social inclusion process
In order to maintain post-Lisbon momentum in the social field, in the new context set by the March 2005 European Council, we need to consider how the Social Inclusion Process can best be streamlined, examining the potential role of target setting and restructured National Action Plans on social inclusion, and the ways in which the Process can be embedded in national policy-making.
Chair: Jos Berghman, Catholic University of Leuven (KUL), Belgium
Speakers:
- Eric Marlier, CEPS/INSTEAD, Luxembourg (Chapter 6)
- Hugh Frazer, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, European Commission
- Paolo Garonna, University LUISS G. Carli of Rome and Chief Economist of Confindustria, Italy
- Anton Hemerijck, Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy, Netherlands
- Erika Kvapilová, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Regional Office for CEE, Slovakia
- Edmundo Martinho, Institute of Social Security, Portugal
- Martin Potucek, Charles University, Czech Republic
- Chiara Saraceno, University of Turin, Italy
Panel on "the way forward"
Chair: Frank Vandenbroucke, Vice-Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Catholic University of Leuven (KUL), Belgium
Panel:
- Thérèse de Liedekerke, Union of Industrial and Employers Confederations of Europe (UNICE)
- Fintan Farrell, European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN)
- Zsuzsa Ferge, Eotvos University, Hungary
- Anna Hedborg, Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Sweden
- Pierre Jaeger, Ministry of Family and Integration (MIFA), Luxembourg
- Józef Niemiec, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
- Jérôme Vignon, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, European Commission
- Gabriele Zimmer, Member of the European Parliament, Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
Conclusion
Concluding Remarks by Incoming UK Presidency: James Plaskitt MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions, UK
