Protests in Europe’s capital

Brussels, a microcosm of Europe. Thousands of demonstrators answered the call from the European Trade Union Confederation (which brings together some fifty union organizations from 30 countries) to protest the austerity plans adopted by EU governments. Organizers hoped to mobilize 100,000 people to march in the streets of Brussels. The Europe wide protests coincided with a proposal made today by the European Commission to introduce new sanctions on Member States in the euro area that do not respect the rules of the Stability Pact.

Conny Reuter, President of Social Platform, the most important platform for European non-profit organizations says, “the Commission is focused solely on adopting new measures to save the stability pact. Well, they should also be reflecting on the social impact of these proposals. Today the crisis is affecting millions of European citizens, and the only response that governments have provided are the budget cuts. Social solidarity is at risk, this is why we have chosen to take to the streets.”

This year is the European Year for Combating Poverty but no one seems to care…

It is still too early to judge but I would not be so pessimistic. In contrast to the Lisbon Strategy, the 2020 EU Strategy adopted by the Council last June includes for the first time a target for reducing poverty over the next decade. This means that the fight against social risks will not stop in December 2010. Of course we had hoped for more. There is a striking contrast between the decision to dedicate this year to this highly problematic European social issue and the budget cuts adopted by European governments. In Europe there are 23 million people who are unemployed and to this you must add the millions of workers living in very poor conditions. The austerity measures are having a very negative impact on the most vulnerable social groups such as migrants and the handicapped.

What are the priority campaigns?

Access to quality jobs and a better education system, the guarantee of a decent pay, better social protection, public services and quality of  life. With the new Lisbon Treaty, the real challenge for the Social Platform is to mobilize our national networks to step up pressure on governments and parliamentarians. We must win over the support of the European Council. The outcome of the fight against poverty will be decided there.