As external devaluation was not possible, internal devaluation was the current strategy, which was inflicting an unacceptable social cost. The urgency of embedding a social dimension to balance the macroeconomic priorities was therefore a priority for the EU, if it was also to bridge the credibility gap, in convincing citizens to support greater EU integration. The new Communication will set out a social scoreboard, with key indicators – unemployment, household income, NEETS, inequality, which should be considered alongside the macroeconomic indicators.
EAPN asked how the scoreboard would work in practice: whether the poverty indicators would be included, and how they would ensure that macroeconomic priorities didn’t undermine social priorities highlighted by the indicators, and mainstream this through Europe 2020 and the European Semester to get real impact.
EAPN also asked whether this would be enough? Was this a sufficient response to the social crisis, and the negative view of the EU as driver of austerity. What action would the EU be taken to ensure EU-wide social standards, that could give people a reason to support more Europe?
