Social Protection And Social Inclusion 2008

This supporting document complements the 2008 Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion with a more detailed account of the work carried out in the framework of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) on social protection and social incusion in 2007.

Recoge: 1. The demographic and socio-economic context - 2. Social cohesion in the EU and its interaction with economic and employment trends - 3. Monitoring progress towards the social inclusion objectives - 4. Monitoring progress towards the pension objectives - 5. Health, health care and long-term care - 6. Annexes.

Social cohesion is one of the declared objectives of the European Union and, with some 16% of EU citizens at risk of poverty, the need to fight poverty and social exclusion continues as a major challenge. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the EU Social Inclusion Process, the means by which it hopes to meet this objective, and explores the challenges ahead at local, regional, national and EU levels. It sets out concrete proposals for taking the Process forward. The book provides a unique analysis of policy formulation and assessment. Setting out the evolution and current state of EU cooperation in social policy, it examines what can be learned about poverty and social exclusion from the EU commonly agreed indicators. Taking the position of outside, but informed, observers, the authors explore the further development of the common indicators, including the implications of Enlargement, and consider the challenges of advancing the Social Inclusion Process - strengthening policy analysis, embedding the Process in domestic policies and making it more effective. Proposing the setting of targets and restructuring of National Action Plans and their implementation, they emphasise the need for widespread ownership of the Process at domestic and EU level and for it to demonstrate significant progress in reducing poverty and social exclusion. The book will be invaluable to academics, students and policy-makers at sub-national, national and EU levels as well as to social partners, and NGOs working towards a more inclusive society.

The Social Protection Floor Initiative promotes universal access to essential social transfers and services. Presently 80% of the global population does not enjoy a set of social guarantees that allows them to deal with life’s risks such as unemployment, ill health, and natural disasters. This book explores the importance and necessity of social protection, including key concepts, universal principles and human rights, the need for context-specific policies, the role of adaptive climate change, and country examples. Social protection refers to a set of essential transfers, services and facilities that all citizens everywhere should enjoy to ensure the realization of the rights embodied in human rights treaties. The Social Protection Floor aims to facilitate and accelerate the introduction or strengthening of sustainable context-specific social protection systems. Experiences from countries around the world that have implemented components of the Social Protection Floor provide evidence of its feasibility, affordability, and impact. The promise and success of social protection is important for transformative change, social inclusion, and alliance building, and raises critical questions about current neoliberal austerity measures. This book calls for a comprehensive, multi-dimensional, integrated and innovative policy mix that recognizes the interdependency between demographic shifts, employment, labour migration, social protection, economic development, and the environment.

The potential role of social protection in the development process has received heightened recognition in recent years, yet making a strong investment case for social protection remains particularly challenging in many emerging and developing countries. This report challenges us to think deeply about the economic rationale for social protection investments through an inclusive development lens. It helps us understand the links between social protection, growth and inequality; how to measure those links empirically; social protection’s impact on inclusive growth; and how to build a more solid economic case for greater social protection investments.

This report contains the second generation of National Action Plans against poverty and social exclusion which have been prepared by the Member States and constitute a strong political acknowledgement, three years after the Lisbon Summit, of the continuing challenge to ensure social inclusion across the European Union.