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.

The Annual Growth Survey for 2012 was presented by the European Commission in November 2011 – its main message is that member states are not doing enough to achieve the targets they committed to under the Europe 2020 strategy.

A key part of the strategy is the National Reform Programme which each country’s government must produce each year, telling what measures are being taken to achieve the targets. These reports must be prepared in consultation with all interested stakeholders, which of course includes the NGO community. However, assessments about the inclusion in the first set of NRPs was disappointing, and many governments consult very selectively and restrict the more open aspects to information-giving, without much or any opportunity to let the proposals expressed find their way into the finished document.

What actions are CEDAG members taking to have their views considered in the National Reform Programmes?

On the 9th and 10th January 2012, CEDAG participated in the kick-off meeting in Brussels launching the project Promoting employers’ social services organisations in social dialogue (PESSIS) which will run for 9 months until September 2012.

The project, funded by the European Programme Industrial relations and Social dialogue, is supported by a broad partnership of European and national organisations representing social and health services providers.

CEDAG is among the European partners including  Caritas Europa, Eurodiaconia, the European Platform for Rehabilitation (EPR), European Federation of National Organizations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA), the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD), SOLIDAR, Workability Europe and the European Federation of public services union (EPSU).

The main aim of this initiative is to remedy to the lack of qualitative and quantitative data on labour issues in the sector from the perspective of employers and to promote a culture of social dialogue.

The European Commission (DG Communication) organises ‘structured dialogue’ meetings which allow an exchange to take place with civil society organisations on major EU policies and directions. On December 8th, the latest meeting was held from 9.30 - 18h with a full agenda ranging from presentation on the “state of the Union” from the deputy secretary general of the commission, and a discussion on the multi-annual financial framework, to issues such as the outcome of the year of volunteering and the progress so far for a year of citizens (2013).

Deputy Secretary General Christian Danielsson, painted a fairly bleak picture of the current state of the Union, the most positive message was that it it is not only Europe where times are hard because US is in bad way too. He did not go on to draw the link that many commentators have, between the EU and USA’s championing of the neoliberal capitalist model, and the deep recessions which are affecting millions upon millions of citizens today.