SJ\_Draft1\_220914 SJ\_Draft1\_220914

- 1) An urgent Marshall-type investment plan is needed which can put into practice the Europe 2020 goals. This is particularly important, to deal with the urgency of rising poverty, particularly in Southern and Eastern Member States. In the short-term public investment is needed to develop an integrated plan to create quality jobs, invest in public services and defend universal social protection..
- 2) Newpriority to the makeeffective use of EUStructural and Investment funds . Explicit monitoring of compliance by Governments and Managing Authorities of the ring- fencing of 20% of ESF, is crucial in the coming period involving the review of stakeholders through the partnership principle. Member States should be required to report in details on the use of Structural and investment funds to achieve the poverty target, including delivery on the ex-ante conditionality on the antipoverty strategy, also as part of the NRPs. This should be reviewed in detail in the Annual Progress Report, linked to the Annual Growth Survey. Most importantly, the EU needs to find a way of connecting again to supporting grass-root initiatives not only funding large- scale, top-down government programmes, often already in motion. The EU should invest in a new poverty programme to support bottom-up innovatrion - a well- resourced local action programme to fight poverty which could support new models of social delivery and cross-national learning.
- 3) Some explicit progress needs to be made on EU-wide instruments to promote social standards .. The EU strategy needs to be seen to be defending the European Social Model, based on access to universal services for all, protecting people against all risks across the life- cycle. Targeting without a universal right to services, embeds' poor services for the poor' and fails to promote equality or prevent or alleviate poverty. There is a key need tor the EU to move forward on defining common principles for social standards, ensuring a level playing field. For EAPN the starting point should be 27 investigation into a Framework Directive on minimum income , under TFEU Art 175, to ensure minimum decent living standards across the EU, to keep people close to the labour market and to ensure a dignified life.
- • would best be done at EU level to ensure that the strategy delivers results? What • would best be done at EU level to ensure that the strategy delivers results? What would best be done at Member State level?

As highlighted above, EAPNbelieves in a strong EUrole, as long as a Social andInclusive Europe is being promoted, with a balanced economic and social agenda, where economic policy contributes to social objectives rather than an end in itself. The EU role is to set common objectives and targets, agree indicators, establish common guidelines and principles, build consensus on a common strategy, promote mutual learning and monitor the impact and results. We strongly believe that the EU must insist on guidelines for effective engagement with parliament, but also national and EU stakeholders.

Currently the argument about subsidiarity in the social area, is being strongly devalued, when in reality the EU is intervening directly in national budgets through the six and two pack, ,

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