Three main instruments of EU social policy

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Three main instruments of EU social policy

• Legal guidance
• Resource guidance
• Information guidance

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limited size of the EU budget

• (OBS.) The total EU budget is around 1 of the
  average GNP of the MSs
• A Finn in average pays
• 7000 euro national taxes
• 150 euro to the EU budget

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EU Social Policy in 2007/8

• EU Social Policy as legislation based on
  so-called community method (partly changed by
  art. 251)
• Social Security and the Internal Markets
  especially the role of ecj
• Resource allocation
• Informative guidance
• Open Method of Coordination in SoProt.
• New approach 2007 ? leads to a new EU Social
  Policy Programme?

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CEC communication 1999 from soft to hard law

• 1. An agenda for deepened co-operation based on
  four key objectives within modernisation
• - to make work pay and to provide secure income
• - to make pensions safe and pension systems
  sustainable
• - to promote social inclusion and
• - to ensure high quality and sustainable health
  care.
• 2. The strategy will be supported by changing
  information and monitoring policy developments in
  order to give the process more visibility and
  political profile. To this end, Member States
  will be invited to designate high level officials
  to act as focal points in this process.

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OMC in lisbon 2000

• THE OPEN METHOD OF COORDINATION (OMC)
• The Lisbon summit of March 2000 that the new
  open method of coordination is a means of
  spreading best practice and of achieving thereby
  greater convergence. It involves
• fixing guidelines for the Union, combined with
  specific timetables for achieving the goals which
  they set in the short, medium and long terms
• establishing, where appropriate, quantitative and
  qualitative indicators and benchmarks against the
  best in the world and tailored to the needs of
  different Member States and sectors, as a means
  of comparing best practice
• translating these European guidelines into
  national and regional policies by setting
  specific targets and adopting measures, taking
  into account national and regional differences
• periodic monitoring, evaluation and peer review,
  organised as mutual learning processes 
• (European Council, 2000).

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initial fields of OMC in SoPro

• Social Inclusion (exclusion) 2000
• Pensions (Struggle between EPC and SPR negative
  vs. positive integration)
• Gotherburg Summit compromise
• Health
• Social Protection providing incentives

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ART. 144 of Nice 2000 Treaty

• The Finnish Presidency used the idea and formed
  ilegally a
• SOCIAL PROTECTION COMMITTEE in 1999 and the
  Portuguese Presidency followed the suit
• .
• NEW ARTICLE 144 TEC
• The tasks of the Committee shall be
• to monitor the social situation and the
  development of social protection policies in the
  Member States and the Community
• to promote exchanges of information, experience
  and good practice between Member States and with
  the Commission
• to prepare reports, formulate opinions or
  undertake other work in the area of its
  competence, at the request of either the Council
  or the Commission or on its own initiative.

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The structure and function of the EUin social
and health policy
MINISTERIAL COUNCIL COREPER WORKING GROUPS
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
COURT OF JUSTICE
LABOUR AND SOCIAL QUESTIONS
HEALTH
ECONOMIC QUESTIONS (INSURANCE)
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE
COMMISSION GENERAL DIRECTORATES
COURT OF AUDITORS
EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS DG
INTERNAL MARKET DG DG V
HEALTH AND CONSUMER PROTECTION DG
COMMITTEE OF REGIONS
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Social Security in the EU and Internal Markets
workers
services
capital
goods
3rd pillar
Insurance Directives
Financing Directives
Coordination of occupational schemes - Directive
98/49/EC
Investments and Management of Pensions
Institutions (Pension Fund Directive)
2nd pillar
(Kohll Decker and other cases)
Coordination of Social Security / Regulations
no. 1408/71 and 574/72
1st pillar
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1a Primary legislation

• Basic Treaties (Rome 1957, SEA, Maastricht,
  Amsterdam, Nice, TFU 2007?)
• Institutional agreements
• Accession treaties
• Always unanimity, which provides leeway for a
  (single) Member State(s)
• Slow expansion of sopo articles

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1b Secondary legislation

• Hard Laws/Hard Acquis regulations, directives,
  decisions
• Soft Laws/Acquis Opinion, recommendation,
  communication
• Always (i) principle (ii) competence arts
• Extension of QMV and scope of competence
• CEC initiates/monitors C. (EP) decides

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European Court of Justice (ECJ)

• Case Law (over 800 covering sopo and health care)
  has to be adopted as such
• Most federalist of the EU institutions
• National Courts and also citizens can approach
• Only Case Law and other decisions made public
• Focused on intepretion functioning of IM

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2. Resource allocation

• ERDF European Regional Development Fund (52 in
  2000/Eurostat)
• ESF European Social Fund (30 )
• EAGGF European Agricultural Guidance and
  Guarantee Fund (16)
• FIFG Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance
  (2
• (Cohesion Fund 6. Globalization Fund)

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4 2 funds and SOPO

• Mainly cohesion policy to narrow regional gaps
  not mainly covering persons
• ESF (long-term unempl. youth
• Peasants, fishers
• EU has no sopo benefits or services.
• They are within the national framework. The scope
  and levels vary between MSs

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Budget

• Incomes
• Commitments
• Decisive 5 years frame budgets
• Restructuring during the present 2007-2013 five
  years framework
• 6 Objetives (to be reduced)
• Initiatives

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The reforms guiding principles
Concentration a more strategic approach
reinforcing the Union's priorities geographic -
about 80 of funding to less developed regions,
thematic - focus on Lisbon and Gothenburg
agendas Simplification number of regulations
reduced less objectives - less funds
programming no zoning any more, mono-fund
programmes a more flexible financial management
proportionality regarding control, evaluation and
monitoring eligibility of expenses Decentralisat
ion stronger role for the regions and local
players

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Art. 15-18 Gen.Reg. and Fin. Perspect.
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Community Priorities

• The increase in disparities in the context of
  enlargement leads to concentration of cohesion
  policy on 3 priorities
• The convergence of countries (GNI lt 90 of the
  average) and regions (regional GDP lt 75 of the
  average) and the regions concerned by the
  statistical effect, that is 33 of the population
  of the Union
• Regional competitiveness and employment
  reinforce attractiveness and ensure that
  socio-economic changes are anticipated in other
  regions, without Community zoning
• European territorial cooperation Cross-border,
  trans-national and inter-regional

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Convergence objective 78.5 including a
special programme for outermost regions
(EUR 264 bn.)
Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 3 Objectives Budget
336.1 bn (0.41 of EU-GDP)
Regional competitiveness and employment objective
17.2 (EUR 57.9 bn.)
Art. 3-7 and 15-18 Gen.Reg. and Fin. Perspect.
European territorial co-operation
objective 3.94 (EUR 13.2 bn.)
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4 fiels of Community Initiatives

• INTERREG crossborder and interregional
  co-operation (ERDF)
• URBAN urban regeneration (ERDF)
• LEADER Rural developement (EAGGF)
• EQUAL New forms to combat discrimination and
  inequality at the labour markets (ESF)
• However, total resources only 5 of Structural
  Funds

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Cohesion Policy between 2000 and 2006
Objective strengthen economic and social cohesion
and reduce regional disparities Instruments three
Objectives and four Community Initiatives 49.5
of the population in EU25 live in areas covered
by Objective 1 or Objective 2 Financial
resources about Euro 233 bn representing one
third of the EU's total budget or 0.45 of the
EUs GDP
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Geographical concentration Regions below or close
to 75 threshold
GDP/head average 1999-2000-2001
below 75 in EU25
statististical effect below 75 in EU15 above
in EU25
"naturally" above 75 because of growth
other regions
Index EU 25 100
Art. 56 Gen.Reg.
Source Eurostat
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3.INFORMATION GUIDANCE

• SOFT LAWS WHICH CAN LEAD TO HARD ONES (E.G. ART.
  144 SOPO C.)
• EES, SOFTEST FORM OMC (AKM)
• INDIRECTLY INFLUENCES NATIONAL SOPO VIA FINANCE
  MINISTRIES, EU EC. GUIDELINES AND COMMITTEES
• STRUGGLE BETWEEN POS./NEG. INT.
• WEAK AND HARD DGS

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Social protection models in the EU
Successive enlargementshave added threenew
modelsof socialprotection tothe originalmodel
of thesix founding members.Eastern
enlargement may add moreto an already diverse
mixture, or lead to an entirely new European
model
Enlarged EU
EU-15
EC/EU-12
A Bismarckian B Anglo-Saxon C Southern
European D Nordic E Fifth model
EEC-9
Up to 28 MS
EEC-6
A
2xB,1xC
3xC
1xA, 2xD
A D or E?