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- • the EU need a comprehensive and overarching medium-term strategy for growth • the EU need a comprehensive and overarching medium-term strategy for growth and jobs for the coming years?

Our starting point is a rejection of the 'old' growth and jobs model, that failed to deliver on poverty during Lisbon. The questions for this consultation should instead be asking if the EU needs a comprehensive and overarching medium and long-term strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The answer is yes .

It is essential that Europe 2020 refocuses on restoring balance to economic and social objectives, which can deliver shared prosperity and a sustainable future for the EU. Growth alone will not ensure a reduction in poverty, quality jobs, nor sustainable livelihoods (nor delivery on climate change and resource efficiency). In reality, this requires a shift towards a more sustainable development model which puts the economy at the service of an inclusive and sustainable society. Will the EU take on this long-term challenge? A dialogue space is urgently needed to articulate how such a model could be developed.

In the short and medium term the short and medium term , the European Semester must be made the instrument to deliver a rejuvenated Europe 2020, focused on delivering its objectives and targets, rather than primarily a tool to deliver the Stability and Growth Pact, delivered through Stability or Convergence Programmes. Currently, even many of the stated means of achieving the social dimension are determined by other economic goals e.g. the over-emphasis on compulsion and cost-cutting in public services and benefits, as well as through a narrow employment-only focus as the only solution for addressing poverty and social exclusion, rather than supportive, integrated active inclusion approaches based on universal access to social protection and public services. All parts of the Strategy and Semester mechanisms should then reflect this rebalancing including the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), the Commission's Guidance for NRPs, and the CSRs. The Commission's proposals on reducing income taxes to make them more 'growth friendly', whilst importa nt for their focus on tackling tax evasion and avoidance, are also liable to have a negative impact which overly strong focuses on 'consumption' and indirect taxes which disproportionately fall on those on the lowest incomes.

For this reason, EAPN sees the need for both a move forward towards a Social as well as an Economic Union as a key priority for the EU. But it will be necessary to have a distinct social strategy and agenda - a Social OMC, to work out the detail of how the social dimension of the EU can be delivered. This should include more specific social objectives, but must feed into Europe 2020 at the highest level, or it risks being side-lined. Key to this approach is the need to take the poverty guidelines out of the employment guidelines and Joint Employment Report, with its own guidelines and report - to allow an integrated approach on social protection and social inclusion to provide a balanced focus with employment policies .

The Lisbon Treaty social clause (Article 9) must be operationalized and applied to all areas of policy, including Structural Funds, EMU etc, to ensure delivery on these commitments as the Treaty requires. Social Impact Assessment must be converted into an operational tool to ensure that social goals are mainstreamed across the whole Europe 2020 and Semester process at all stages (ex-ante to ex-post). The EU could lead the way in demonstrating that it

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