The Social Summit in Porto must affirm a strong
commitment to the European Pillar of Social Rights and
its headline targets, involving all levels of
government
Portugal's Prime Minister António Costa addressed
today the plenary session of the European Committee
of the Regions (CoR) to present the priorities of
the Portuguese EU Council Presidency and discuss
with representatives of EU's cities and regions
ahead of the Social Summit in Porto at the end of
the week. Members of the CoR stressed that all
levels of government need to work together to reach
the targets of the European Pillar of Social Rights
and to ensure a fair recovery from the Covid-19
crisis throughout Europe, respecting the principle
of cohesion as a fundamental value in the EU. They
expressed their dissatisfaction for the lack of
reference to the regional and local dimension in
the Porto Declaration draft, and asked the
Portuguese Presidency to promote full involvement
of local and regional authorities in the
preparation and implementation of national recovery
and resilience plans.
Prime Minister António Costa
said: "The Committee of the Regions is the local and
the European levels brought together in one. It is
therefore a key partner for the success of Europe's
fair, green and digital recovery. We all know that
recovery will only be successful at Union level if it
is successful at local level. And this will only be
possible through a decentralised implementation,
allowing a swift and efficient execution of available
funds and at the same time safeguarding a response in
line with the needs of the economic fabric of regions
and cities, and the expectations of our citizens. It’s
time to turn the principles of the European Pillar of
Social Rights into actions and ensure that they support
the Union in achieving its strategic objectives,
notably the twin green and digital transition. Without
economic recovery and a solid growth in decent jobs
there is neither social nor territorial cohesion."
Apostolos Tzitzikostas
, President of the European Committee of the Regions,
said: "I thank Prime Minister Costa - a regional leader
himself and a former Member of our Committee - for
bringing his invaluable contribution to our Plenary.
Regions and municipalities are essential in building a
strong and resilient social Europe which will guarantee
that the green and digital transitions are fair and
which will facilitate recovery from the COVID-19
crisis. In this sense, the effective implementation of
the European Pillar of Social Rights can only succeed
if all levels of government, from European to local,
are working together, respecting the principle of
active subsidiarity. The Social Summit in Porto at the
end of the week will be a decisive moment and we cannot
understand why the draft Declaration does not make any
reference to the local and regional dimension. As the
Portuguese Presidency requested the European Committee
of the Regions to work on a referral on this topic, we
count on your support to reflect it in the final
Declaration. Member States and European institutions
should involve local and regional authorities in the
preparation of the national recovery and resilience
plans and ensure that they are oriented towards
creating jobs, strengthening social resilience,
protecting the most vulnerable and ensuring equal
opportunities for all. We must guarantee that the EU
delivers concrete solutions to people's problems on the
ground."
The CoR First Vice-PresidentVasco Cordeiro, who will lead the CoR
delegation in Porto, said: "The fight against the
COVID-19 pandemic and its effects are a wake-up call
that reminds us all about the need for a stronger and
fairer Europe. It is more necessary than ever to work
to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights. The
Porto Social Summit is going to stress how important
all levels of governance are to achieve its
objectives."
The Portuguese Council presidency had requested the CoR
to provide its contribution on the local and regional
dimension of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The
opinion
presented today stresses that the effective
implementation of the Pillar is of the utmost
importance and can only succeed if all levels of
governance, from European to local are involved,
respecting the principle of active subsidiarity. It
also calls to improve monitoring at sub-national level
through a regional social scoreboard in order to ensure
that the Social Pillar is implemented at all levels and
that regional investments are geared towards achieving
the principles of the Pillar.
Rapporteur Anne Karjalainen (FI/PES),
Member of Kerava City Council and Chair of the CoR's
SEDEC Commission, said: "Europe is seeing the biggest
health, social and economic crisis of a generation, a
crisis that is putting European solidarity to the test.
A fair recovery for Europe relies on a fully
operational European Pillar of Social Rights,
protecting all citizens and being applied across the
Union. Local and regional authorities are key levers in
the effective implementation of the Pillar, which plays
a decisive role when it comes to strengthening and
restoring the social resilience of cities and regions."
First Vice-President Vasco Cordeiro and SEDEC
Commission chair Anne Karjalainen will represent the
CoR in the high-level conference of the Porto Social
Summit this Friday. Mr Cordeiro will intervene in the
panel "Work and employment"
on 7 May at 15:00-17:00 (GMT).
More information
Prime Minister Costa – CoR member between 2010 and
2015 in his capacity as Mayor of Lisbon - attended
the CoR plenary just days before the Social Summit
of the Heads of State and Government taking place
in Porto on 7-8 May.
EU leaders meeting in Porto are expected to agree on
specific quantitative targets and timelines to
implement the European Pillar of Social Rights,
proclaimed in 2017 in Gothenburg. As specified in the
Action Plan
presented by the European Commission in March, the aim
is to strengthen the EU's social dimension as Europe is
recovering from the deepest crisis for decades and
facing new challenges linked to the green and digital
transitions. A key instrument will be the
Recovery and Resilience Facility
which will make €672.5 billion in loans and grants
available to support reforms and investments undertaken
by Member States and their regions
The Recovery and Resilience Facility aims at mitigating
the economic and social impact of the Covid-19 pandemic
and making European economies and societies more
sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the
green and digital transitions. Member States are in the
process of preparing their recovery and resilience
plans that set out a coherent package of reforms and
public investment projects.
Contact:
Lauri Ouvinen
Tel. +32 473536887
lauri.ouvinen@cor.europa.eu