On the occasion of the informal meeting of the ministers responsible for regional policy to take place tomorrow, Friday 20 May, the European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN) has issued a response to the Commission’s non-paper on the “Community Strategic Guidelines on Cohesion Policy in support of growth and jobs”, which is to be discussed at the informal ministerial.
EAPN believes that the non-paper fails to acknowledge the crucial context of the high levels of poverty and social exclusion in the European Union.
According to EAPN, the non-paper re-situates the Community Strategic Guidelines in the context of the revised Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs and misses a sense of social and environmental responsibility, which could unbalance the Structural Funds and send the wrong signals to Member States. EAPN states that a growth strategy failing to give equal and balanced importance to social and environmental considerations may well lead to increased inequality and levels of poverty. The need for a balance amongst the economic, social and environmental pillars of the European policy was again emphasized by the Spring Summit of 2005. With regards to the existing EU policies on social inclusion, EAPN says that “the guidelines fail to give weight to or even acknowledge the experience of the European Union in promoting social inclusion through the Open Method of Coordination, an astonishing omission which brings into question whether the guidelines are truly complementary to existing Union policies”.
With regards to the section of the guidelines dealing with governance, EAPN believes that it is unbalanced and flawed, as the Commission recognizes the importance of building the capacity of governmental actors in the Structural Funds, but fails to appreciate the significance of similar measures for civil society and non-government organizations. “While the guidelines acknowledge the role of civil society and NGOs as Structural Fund partners, which is important, they fail to understand the logic of also supporting and developing their capacities and capabilities so as to make such partnership effective”, EAPN says.
/ENDS
Download the EAPN draft response to the Commission non-paper
For further information, please contact Vincent Forest (Information officer) or Nuria Molina (Policy and Development Officer), tel. +32 2 230 44 55 – fax. +32 2 230 97 33 – E-mail: team@eapn.skynet.be – Website: www.eapn.org
