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Reactions to the Commission’s Report and
proposals for the December Council
Roshan Di Puppo, Director of the Social Platform
EEB seminar “Reviewing the EU Sustainable Development Strategy”
Brussels, 16 November 2007
Reactions to the Progress Report
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Not a strategy but a catalogue of existing policies
The report for the social objectives is incomplete and does not add anything to the work
already done in the social field (i.e. open method of coordination on social protection and
social inclusion)
Multitude and unclear objectives makes it difficult to assess progress
Ideally a progress report should identify the objectives, assess progress made (or not),
provides analysis and make recommendations
Lack of recommendations
The December summit should have helped preparing the Spring Summit but the report does
not make any link to the Lisbon strategy
No evaluation of stakeholders’ participation
⇒ The report confirms the weakness of the EU SDS
What is the added value of the strategy?
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Promoting a new ethic in policy making?
“growth and jobs” as dominating dogma (i.e. “Lisbonisation” of all EU policies
and of national policies)
A missed opportunity for the EU (internationally and nationally)
Strengthening social objectives?
Risk of oversimplification of social challenges
Stimulating an integrated approach?
Lack of transversal approach (i.e. services of general interest, public
procurement)
Mobilisation of actors to deliver on objectives?
Social actors are working less on sustainable development since 2005
Too little links and references to known processes (i.e. agenda 21, ecological
footprint, index of human development, alternative to GDP etc…)
Social Platform's approach to the Dec/Spring Summit
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Content: The Lisbon strategy needs to be revised
Support of recent presidencies and of the EP
Campaign targeting heads of state and of government and starting in
December
Annual conference “Social NGOs (getting) ready for the post-Lisbon” (Brussels
26 November 2007)
Process: More works needs to be done on the governance side of
European strategy
Soft policies coordination v.legislation
Democratic challenges: what role for parliaments?
Multi-level of governance: how to mobilise civil society at all levels?
⇒ Common campaign with ETUC and EEB ?
www.socialplatform.org