Social Europe – Many ways, one objective – Report of the Social Protection Committee (2013)

The new report of the Social Protection Committee is out. On the basis of this report, the Council of the European Union (EPSCO) adopted the conclusions at its meeting on 10th March 2014, stressing the fact that the key factor for achieving the Europe 2020 objectives for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth is working toward policy coherence between the economic and social objectives of the Union. Further to their impact…

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Manifesto of the Spring Alliance

The Spring alliance, an alliance of Social platform, CONCORD, ETUC and BEE has published their manifesto. You find here the document Spring Alliance Manifesto They have three priorities: improve democracy, establish more cohesive and equal societies and ensure quality employment for all. These three topics encompasses 16 proposals. Many of them we find also in our memorandum. PRIORITY A – IMPROVE DEMOCRACY Improve democratic control and oversight, in particular of economic…

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Promote investment in the real economy

One of our proposals is to promote investment in the real economy instead of of investments in financial assets that have no productive counterpart. One of the obstacles for an economic recovery is that at this moment their is more investment in financial assets than in the real economy. Because of the low intrest rate, created by the Central Banks to help the governments to finance their debts, investors are…

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Redistribution and growth

The IMF launched a new working paper on the issue of redistribution. An important working paper because it shows that redistribution doesn’t obstruct growth. IMF has recognized in recent years that one cannot separate issues of economic growth and stability on one hand and equality on the other. Indeed, there is a strong case for considering inequality and an inability to sustain economic growth as two sides of the same…

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Social Platform about the Call for another Europe

Social Platform made a short report of our conference and published it in The Social Compass February 18, 2014. On February 13, the Alliances To Fight Poverty organised a Round Table event to present and discuss the Memorandum “Another Europe is possible: for a fair distribution” putting forward their priorities in view of the forthcoming European elections. Different stakeholders were invited to present their views on the Memorandum, including Claire…

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2014 An urgent call – conference

The “Alliances to fight poverty” organised a conference to present their  “Call for a social, democratic and sustainable Europe”. More than 80 guests listened to prof Richard Wilkinson, 6 social organisations, 4 European Political parties. They had also the task to vote for our proposals. Richard Wilkinson introduced the conference with a broad presentation where he explored the relation between poverty and inequality. He started from the statement of Sahlin M.…

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Another Third Way for Europe

Opinion. The European elections would seem to be turning into a battle between two great images of Europe: on the one hand is the image of the usurping juggernaut that Eurosceptics emphasize; and on the other hand we have the image of the extensive federal state that the European federalists propagate. However, both images are strikingly similar. They look upon Europe as a new state: a new state with full…

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Minimum wages: a necessary claim?

Minimum wages have re-appeared on policy agendas accros Europe and the US. There are some reasons. First, in the richer EU countries the minimum wage is seen as an attractive tool to curb the downward pressure on wages that is caused by the stream of low-wage immigration. Second, many advocates of statutory minimum wages see the as an alternative tool that could substitute collective bargaining in protecting workers against low…

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Conference: the urgent call for a social, democratic and sustainable Europe

Conference: the urgent call for a social, democratic and sustainable Europe 13th of February 2014  from 9 am till 4 pm The Alliances to fight poverty are presenting their call for a social, democratic and sustainable Europe to members of the European social and civil organisations and to the members of the European parliament. A confrontation introduced by prof. Richard Wilkinson: does inequality in Europe matters? A confrontation with EAPN,…

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An urgent Call for a social, democratic and sustainable Europe

The Alliances to fight Poverty presents his memorandum for the next European elections. It is more than a memorandum. It is an awakening Call and a Call that wants to unite -like the Alliances- every organisation and everyone around the fight to poverty, social exclusion and inequality. It formulates our main vision on Europe, a renewed Europe, a social, democratic and sustainable Europe. The ‘Alliances to fight poverty’ put forward three essential…

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