Economy, labour, digital transformation

Usually, the concept of social policies has always been associated with a left-wing perspective, with aid and benefits, with the national responsibility of the Member States to provide a safety net for those in need. This is the first mistake that needs to be corrected: social policies are not left or right. The Conference on the Future of Europe must be the key moment in which the social agenda becomes a priority for all policymakers, regardless of their political colour. Otherwise, the fear and insecurity of the vulnerable will be exploited by politicians who threaten our democratic values, by populists with messages that will vary from extreme left to extreme right. Given that advancing the social agenda is a matter of preserving democracy, we propose to reflect on whether the EU’s social policy competences are sufficient or whether the momentum needs more Europe in terms of social, educational and health policies.

2.1. Not leaving anyone behind 

Beyond the conceptual debate, better coordination is needed. Social inclusion has its roots at the level of the individual, of the community, while the solutions come from the regional, national or European level. The lack of communication between these levels leads to discrepancies between expectations and reality. A person, a child, a family or a community with disabilities, part of a minority or at risk of poverty or social exclusion needs a whole package of measures concerning health, nutrition, social assistance, education, skills for the labour market. If these measures are managed separately and individually, social cohesion will remain just a myth. For this reason, we propose a solid coordination model, focused on the needs of a category, not on the areas of intervention. Thus, there is a need to set up a European Children’s Authority to coordinate and monitor Member States’ efforts to implement the Child Guarantee and to combat child poverty.

2.2. Future of the labour market 

Many of those who have lost their jobs will have to return to a highly competitive market and get new jobs that require new skills. The pandemic has also shown that digital skills are not just professional strengths, but are necessary to continue working in conditions of social distancing and the impossibility of geographical movement. Unfortunately, according to the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), only 58% of European citizens have basic digital skills, and in a labour market influenced by digital transformations, a lack of skills limits the chances of decent living and prosperity. For this reason, it is time for a real skills revolution in the EU, giving citizens all the chances in order to ensure their income and a decent living.

Rapid change towards a climate-neutral Europe and, consequently, ensuring a fair transition will transform industries, lead to the disappearance of jobs and the creation of new ones. In the context of the 4.0 industrial revolution, people need to be trained, qualified and retrained to have a long-term income and security.

In addition to these challenges, pressing issues need to be addressed, issues that show how necessary it is to coordinate social policies at the European level. Even before the pandemic, 1 in 10 people in employment was at risk of poverty, and they were the hardest hit by the pandemic crisis. Digital platforms create new opportunities for workers, the self-employed, customers and companies, with 11% of the EU workforce declaring to have provided services through a platform. The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the digital transformation and expansion of the platforms’ business models in the internal market.

For this reason, we need strong platform legislation and better working conditions for people working through platforms.

2.3. Opportunities and access for young people 

In particular, the pandemic has had severe consequences for young people, who still have difficulties finding secure jobs. For many young people, entering the labour market will be very difficult in the context of the pandemic, and with a period of suspension or partial resumption of education or training courses. Internships, schools, universities, technical or vocational education have been suspended or conducted online, an environment in which, unfortunately, many young people in vulnerable areas have failed to enter, due to their precarious situation, lack of digital infrastructure or lack of digital equipment and skills. In 2018, 15 million young people in the EU were not employed and did not attend any education or training (NEET) program. That is, 1 in 6 young people had an uncertain future, increased by the COVID-19 pandemic. For them, but also for all those who form the new generation, we must ensure their access to quality education, which will prepare them for the labour market. That is why the European Education Area must become a reality and be the cornerstone of the training of young people’s skills, abilities and knowledge.

2.4. Social economy

Investing a sum of money in something, whether it is financial schemes, property or shares, means that there is a desire to make a profit. But too often a government, a company or a person thinks only of financial profitability, forgetting that social profitability is becoming increasingly relevant in today’s economy. In the context of the pandemic, an important step for our recovery is to revise our old concept of investment and spending. Digital transformations force us to invest in people, so a true European budget must allow flexibility and synergies between public and private investment because private investments  are those that can highlight the added value of an investment with social impact. All financial instruments created for social policies, children and young people will become scattered resources if they are not channelled through innovative solutions for social investments.

The complexity of large-scale reforms and policies, such as social policies, has led the Member States to prefer short-term, reactive spending measures. Solutions to include vulnerable groups are designed to keep citizens afloat and dependent on benefits and social support. This behaviour, although easy to implement in the short term, has negative long-term consequences, preventing people from truly coming out of poverty and exclusion. Therefore, it is time to change the mentality and encourage prevention investments, which will replace these reactive expenditures and which will offer real market solutions for people’s needs. By investing in education, skills, training, qualification and retraining, people receive the opportunity to integrate into the labour market and thus will have access to a world that can break the toxic circle of vulnerability.