Europe is governed by centre-right governments and it is badly governed. 19 out of 27 heads of governments are from the centre-right and send conservative and neoliberal commissioners to Brussels. Whilst the economies of the EU member states have been harmonised, the welfare states have remained national. Now the balance between capital and labour is threatened. As a consequence social inequalities grow – on the one hand profits rise, on the other hand real wages fall. In the view of many people, instead of helping people coping with the risks and challenges of globalisation the EU has turned into a henchman for the globalised economy. Europe’s citizens rightly demand that the EU should not only consider the interests of the economy but strengthen social rights and foster active employment. We – the European social democrats – therefore focus on a Social Europe and putting people first.

For a Social Europe
We want to create a European economic model that puts people and not the market in the centre of attention. The single market is the precondition for growth and employment. Economic growth, however, can never be an end in itself but must contribute to prosperity for everyone. We want to amend the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) by an equally important social union in order to include political and social rights in the European Single Market. The different national traditions of the European social model should be respected; at the same time, however, binding regulations and minimum standards should be established: We propose a European social progress pact with joint European goals and standards for social and education expenditures based on the economic ability of the member states. Furthermore, every EU legislation should be assessed according to its social consequence for the citizens in Europe.

With the proposal of a European pact against wage dumping we want to achieve that decent minimum wages are guaranteed in every member state. We campaign for the inclusion of a social progress clause in EU legislation. Also, we want a review of the ‘Posting of Workers Directive’. In Europe the principle of ’same wages and labour conditions for the same employment in the same place’ must hold true. The rights of employees, in particular the rights of European works councils, must be strengthened in order to guarantee employees’ participation in economic decision-making processes. A new European Commission will only be politically supported by European social democrats if it obligates itself to take into account social impact assessments when developing European legislation. The EU will regain the trust of its citizens and create enthusiasm for the European project if it reveals again its social side.

For Employment and Ecological Progress

We need a joint European policy for growth and employment now that people in Europe have to face a financial crisis with unprecedented challenges, such as a rise in unemployment, an increase in the cost of food and fuel, a decline in people’s purchasing power and growing risks of poverty.

The European Single Market and the Economic and Monetary Union are the bases to preserve our competiveness in the globalised economy. Yet, the pressure of the global market on our social standards grows. Besides worldwide trade with capital and goods, there is now global competition between services and labour. In order to prevent a ruinous competition between EU member states, we demand a better coordination of economic and financial policies: For example, we propose a common corporate tax rate and the taxation of Europe wide acting capital companies.

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