Presentation by the Minister for Social Protection to the Joint Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education in relation to the EPSCO meeting on the 4th October and EU Presidency Priorities.

Chairman,

Thank you for the opportunity to meet the Committee to discuss the upcoming meeting of the Council of Employment & Social Policy Ministers (EPSCO) in Luxembourg on the 4rh October. I would like to also take the opportunity to brief the Committee on my priorities during the forthcoming EU Presidency.

As the Committee will be aware EPSCO is a Council which covers a wide range of issues spanning the responsibilities of a number of Ministries including Social Protection, Jobs Enterprise and Innovation, Justice Equality and Defence, Health and more recently Children and Youth Affairs. In terms of discussing the agenda for the upcoming Council Meeting I will concentrate on the issues for which my Department has the lead role.

Some of the items are technical, and I will present them in the order of the agenda.

Agenda Item 4 - Association Agreements

The first Social Protection item is a relatively technical one – item 4: an agreement on the Council position to be adopted in relation to the social security aspects of association agreements the EU has with Albania, Montenegro, San Marino and Turkey.

These Association agreements cover a wide range of matters dealing with the relationship between the countries in question and the EU.and generally include a clause on social security coordination. The purpose of these Council decisions is to set out the manner in which the EU sees the social security clauses being implemented and are subject to agreement with the individual countries. Ireland has no issue with these decisions as they mainly involve equality for nationals of the countries involved in their dealings with social welfare, and the export of contributory pensions. These requirements are already covered under domestic legislation.

However, there is an issue with the Turkey agreement with regard to the legal base for the decision. The base being used is Art 48 of the Treaty, which deals with free movement, and which ourselves and the UK contend relates to Union citizens. As this agreement relates to a third country the base should be Art 79 which deals with rights of third country nationals. The effect of using article 48 is that it deprives us (and the UK) of the right to opt in/out of this decision under Protocol 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. A similar issue has arisen in relation to agreements with Switzerland and the EEA countries and UK has already taken cases to the CJEU to have the matter clarified in relation to these agreements. Ireland is, on the advice of the Attorney General, supporting the UK submissions. The concern here is that the use of Art 48 may set a precedent which could have implications for our national interests in areas other than social security. In the circumstances, Ireland will record its disagreement with the decision on Turkey by way of a joint minute statement with the UK. In any event it is understood that this decision may not be accepted pending the outcome of the Swiss and EEA cases.

Agenda Item 6 - Europe 2020 and the new EU Governance

(a)Evaluation of the second European Semester and thematic surveillance in employment and Social policies - Endorsement of the contributions of the Social Protection Committee

This item relates to an opinion of the Social Protection Committee on the European Semester process. It is one of a number of Committees that has produced an opinion on the process.

The Social Protection Committee offers opinions and produces reports for the Council in the areas of social protection, health care and pensions and is competent to do so under the Treaty.

The key political message in the opinion is that social policy issues are increasingly relevant in the Semester and that EPSCO has a key role in ensuring that the positive contribution of social protection to inclusive growth are properly reflected in all relevant Council recommendations.

This opinion was agreed by all Member States and the Commission at a meeting of the SPC on 20 September, 2012 and should be endorsed by the Council without difficulty.

(c) Social Protection Performance Monitor – Endorsement of the SPCs introductory report

Under this item, the Council is being asked to endorse a report to the Council on the Social Protection Performance Monitor.

The social protection performance monitor (SPPM) is currently being developed by the Social Protection Committee (SPC) and the Commission services. It is in response to the European Council conclusions of December last year which called for “complementing reinforced economic governance with improved monitoring of employment and social policies”. The output of the monitor will form part of future SPC Annual reports on the social dimension of Europe 2020 for the Council.

The Council (EPSCO) has already endorsed the Employment Performance Monitor through which it follows the employment policies. The SPPM will enhance the Council ability to gain a deeper understanding over developments occurring in social policies across the EU, to monitor them closely and regularly and to identify social trends common to a number of Member States. The new tool covers the three strands of the social open method of co-ordination (social protection, pensions, health) as re-confirmed by the Council in June 2011.

Agenda Item 7 - Towards a Job-Rich Recovery and Giving a Better Chance to Europe’s Youth

Can I now move on to item 7 of the Council Agenda, an item which I personally regard as hugely important.

One of the challenges faced by the EU (and ourselves) is tackling unemployment, with a particular emphasis placed on the experiences of young people whose rate of unemployment across the EU is twice that of the total unemployment rate. There has been much activity at both national and EU level in attempting to face these challenges.

The Commissions ‘Employment Package’ and the Councils ‘Compact for Growth and Jobs’ published earlier this year, request Member States to engage in economic and social policies to boost employment rates, particularly for the long term unemployed and young people. The Youth on the Move flagship initiative is currently underway which focuses on supporting young people in the transition from education to work.

The Council Conclusions which will be adopted on the 4th October are a response to the ‘Employment Package’ and are a further development on work done so far, including strengthening employment policy measures at both national and EU level.

The conclusions call on the Member States and the Commission to take action on a number of fronts designed to step up job creation and labour demand.

These conclusions will be followed up later in the year with a Youth Transitions Package and I will be prioritising work on this during our Presidency. More on that later.

Agenda item 8: preventing and tackling child poverty and social exclusion and promoting children’s well- being.

Child poverty has been a concern at EU level for at least a decade. In 2012 the Social Protection Committee (SPC) published an Advisory Report to the European Commission on Preventing and Tackling Child Poverty and Social Exclusion and Promoting Children’s Well-Being.

Drawing on the SPC Advisory Report and Main Messages, Draft Council Conclusions have been prepared under the Cypriot Presidency. The Conclusions recognise that income support measures will not, on their own, address child poverty and that without a broader consideration of child well-being, child poverty can and will have some effect on all children’s outcomes. It is for this reason that access to services and children’s participation are also important.

These conclusions invite the Member States, the EU Commission and the Social Protection Committee, taking account of the specific circumstances in each Member State to take action along the following lines ;

  • Aim to ensure adequate and sustainable investment in child and family supports, mitigating negative impacts on the cost vulnerable whilst maintaining an adequate balance between universal and targeted policies
  • Incorporate child poverty and social exclusion as well as child well being, as key issues in the EU 2020 strategy and the integrated Social Open Method of Coordination
  • Make full use of existing tools to improve the monitoring of and reporting on child poverty, social exclusion and child well-being, as well as the evaluation of policies.

Member States are asked to consider when designing and implementing policies that investing in children is a long-term investment, that they make full use of financial opportunities provided through the EU including structural funds and that they promote the engagement of all key actors including local authorities and NGOs.

I strongly endorse the holistic approach envisaged in the conclusions. It is my view that, working closely with the Minister of Children and Youth Affairs, these Council Conclusions together with the new child poverty sub-target under the National Social Target (as the revised National Poverty Target is now known) provide a unique opportunity to tackle child poverty and in doing so promote child well-being, within the Europe 2020 strategy to the betterment of all children.

I understand that these conclusions will be followed up by an EU Recommendation on Child Poverty which will be included in an overall Social Package which will be published by the EU Commission in March. At this stage it is not clear what will be contained in that package, but if time allows after publication it would be my intention, in consultation with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, to see what progress we can make in this area during the Irish Presidency.

Priorities for the Presidency

Although my role here is primarily to brief you on the Council, we are rapidly approaching Ireland’s Presidency of the EU, so I would like to take this opportunity to let you know of my key priorities for social affairs for the Presidency. As I have already said, the EU agenda in the social protection area covers a wide range of issues including activation and employment, pensions, social security and social inclusion.Tackling unemployment and addressing the social consequences of the crisis effectively, pursuing reforms to improve employment levels, in particular of young people, and developing, implementing and mainstreaming effective policies to combat poverty and support vulnerable groups are all areas in which the EU is very active in developing policy and actions. Accordingly, it is appropriate that priorities for the Irish EU Presidency should reflect the emphasis the EU places on these important issues.

EPSCO Informal

One the highlights of the Presidency will be to bring Ministers of Employment and Social Affairs to Dublin in February 2013 for an informal Ministerial Meeting. The general theme for the meeting will be “Supporting People into Employment”, with a particular emphasis on youth unemployment.

The youth unemployment element will be particularly timely. In December 2012 the EU Commission will publish a Youth Transitions Package. The main element of this will be a proposal for a “youth guarantee” aiming to ensure targeted young people are either working or in appropriate training/work experience within a specified time after becoming unemployed.

The objective of the proposal is to intensify actions at EU and Member State level aimed at addressing the high level of youth unemployment across Europe. The EU Commission is very anxious to see significant progress in this area during the Irish Presidency and hopes that Council recommendations can be adopted.

The Informal Meeting will seek to advance the issues raised in the Commission proposal with a view to adopting Council Conclusions on the Commission package at a formal EPSCO Council during our Presidency.

The informal will also include meetings with the Social Partners and with the Social Platform at a European level.

This informal will be jointly run by my Department and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation with input from the Department of Education and Skills. An interdepartmental group of officials is currently working to put together a comprehensive set of policy papers to address the wide range of issues that come under the theme of “getting people back to work”.

Other Social Protection measures during the Irish Presidency

In addition to the Youth Guarantee it is my intention to make progress at EPSCO on two key legislative measures, the Pensions Portability Directive and a regulation to amend the social security coordination regulations.

Pensions Portability Directive

The ‘portability Directive ’ proposes minimum requirements for enhancing worker mobility by improving the acquisition and preservation of supplementary pension rights. It is important in the context of increasing worker mobility, in particular mobility within self-employment.

At present there is no common framework in the EU regulating the acquisition and preservation of supplementary pension rights. The fact that pension rights may not be preserved in a supplementary pension when a person leaves employment is considered to be a serious obstacle to the free movement of workers within the EU. Accordingly, it is acknowledged that that there is a need for Union action on the topic in order to improve and support the mobility of workers across the European Union.

Previous efforts to agree a Directive in this area have not been successful. However, it is expected that the Commission will reintroduce the proposal late in the Cypriot Presidency and negotiations will be carried forward to the Irish Presidency. Given the history of this measure, negotiations will be difficult but it is my intention to try and finalise an agreed approach during our Presidency.

Social Security Regulations

Coordination of social security systems is seen by the EU as an important element in the measures that are in place to encourage and facilitate the free movement of workers and EU citizens in general. Accordingly, it is important to ensure that the Regulations are updated on a regular basis and that any issues which would impact negatively on the principles underpinning the Regulations are addressed

The aim of this proposal is to amend Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009 on the coordination of social security systems. These Regulations require amendment on an on-going basis to take account of changes to the social security systems of the individual Member States, judgements of the ECJ and to deal with issues identified in the operation of the Regulations. Changes are made on an annual basis and it is expected that the Commission will publish the proposal for the latest round of amendments in December 2012.

Changes to the Regulations can sometimes involve quite difficult negotiations because of the obligations they impose on the social security systems of the Member States. However, on this occasion it is expected that the proposal will involve mostly small amendments and technical changes which are unlikely to be opposed by any of the Member States. In the circumstances, I expect that it will be possible to achieve an agreed approach at Council and possibly a first reading agreement with the Parliament.

I am looking forward to a successful EU Presidency which will make a significant contribution to advancing the EU agenda on a range of issues.