The Progressives will be in Kraków this Friday: Social Europe has to be at the heart of European elections
Date
29 Nov 2018
Sections
Social Europe & Jobs
Socialist and democrat politicians will gather with academics and civil society activists in Kraków on Friday to discuss what we can do better to win back our citizens’ trust and pave the way for a stronger united social Europe that works for all.
Former Polish president Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Maroš Šefčovič, vice-president of the European Commission, and Marek Belka, former Prime Minister of Poland will give keynote speeches during the event.
The conference will take place one year after the Social Summit in Gothenburg, Sweden, where all EU leaders and EU institutions proclaimed the European Pillar of Social Rights. It was a historic moment, but now we need to turn commitments into concrete actions by making real improvements in people’s everyday lives. Six months before the next European elections, the S&Ds invite all to focus on the social situation in Europe during the next campaign, as we cannot afford to further deepen the rift between the rich and poor in our Union.
Speaking ahead of the conference, S&D Group vice-president and the FEPS president, Maria João Rodrigues MEP, said:
"The European Union must continue embodying a promise of shared welfare, prosperity and equal opportunities for all. With that as a mission, we have to ensure that everyone is indeed treated in the same way across the European labour market: in terms of wages, ensuring investment in people, providing decent working conditions, social protection and public services.
“Europe must declare war on poverty: we are advocating the adoption of a European-wide poverty reduction strategy, an ambitious and effective plan instead of mere handouts right wing and nationalist governments give to their citizens in the form of social allowances. In particular, we must eradicate child poverty through the establishment of a European Child Guarantee: to ensure every child has access to good education, quality housing, food and healthcare.
“We need to speed up negotiations in order to be able to deliver on the promises made in Gothenburg: to build a fairer Europe and strengthen the social dimension of the EU before the 2019 European elections. Europeans want to see concrete actions.”
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