The Liaison Group of the EESC has written an open letter to the members of the European Parliament, calling on them to ensure that the Year, which was proposed in August last year, will have the scope to really address the many important issues linked to citizenship of the EU.

The letter recalls that democratic citizenship implies that citizens have a say in the EU policy-shaping and decision-making processes by electing their representatives to the European Parliament. With the prospect of the upcoming elections in 2014 and at a time when many citizens feel the European Union is remote from their concerns, the stakes could not be higher.

The signatory organisations believe that the European institutions' difficulties to give a strong and coordinated political and institutional response to the current financial, economic and social crisis and the mounting predominance of the use of intergovernmental method in European processes can partly account for this civic disaffection towards the EU.

To read the full text of the letter you can download it here. Do not hesitate to circulate it to people or organisations who may be interested.

The latest meeting of the European Parliament’s Public Services Intergroup on 1 February focused on the topic : Not-for-profit organisations and State Aid. Invited speakers included Conny Reuter, Secretary General of Solidar and current president of the Social Platform; Katharina Wegner, of the German organisation Diakonie as well as a speaker representing the European Commission DG Competition.

Issues arising within local governments (collectivités territoriales) in their relations with associations providing social services have made clear the need for a debate on this topic. On one hand the local authority takes on the role of client, ordering services from the provider. On the other hand, social services have a very particular role in society responding to social needs and challenges often addressing vulnerable demographic groups. This aspect changes the relationship from a simple client-provider one, because it introduces philosophical questions about how the service should be provided and to what end. For many working in the sector it is clear that the debate is not about how to organise competition to make the sector more profitable, since many social services are by their very nature unprofitable if they are provided to the adequate standards of quality.