Social inclusion

Social inclusion in an enlarged Europe – Summary of Bratislava seminar (29/30 Sept.)

The European Public Social Platform – of which CEMR is a member – held a seminar on social inclusion in an enlarged Europe, in Bratislava (Slovakia), on 29 and 30 September 2004.

Representatives from local and regional authorities from 14 European states attended the meeting. Speakers included the chairman of the Bratislava self-governing region, L'ubo Roman, and representatives from ministries of social affairs from the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, Denmark and Slovakia.

The aims of the seminar were to promote National action plans on social inclusion in new EU Member States, to provide case studies from several central European countries, and to highlight issues and current trends in social inclusion.

Several problems in the new EU member states were highlighted, among them the lack of access to public services, the poor quality of social dialogue and the difficulty for some societal groups to adapt to a post Cold War Europe.

Participants agreed to several conclusions :

Social indicators and clear targets must be an integral part of the Lisbon strategy mid-term review
Local governments need concrete support (funding, practical projects…)
Social inclusion can not be addressed without the involvement of local and regional government
2005 will be a critical year in addressing indicators and development targets

Note on European Public Social Platform

Founded : April 2002
Nature : Network of local and regional government
Members : Council of European Municipalities and Regions, the Assembly of European Regions, the European Social Network, Eurocities, and Quartiers en Crise (European Regeneration Areas Network)

Aims : To promote the role and contribution of the local and regional public sector to the definition and implementation of EU social policy, and to work with European institutions and European networks to ensure social policy proposals reflect the concerns of local and regional authorities