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CDR854-2013_00_00_TRA_TCD .../...
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EU local and regional authorities contributing to the
Mid-term review of Europe 2020
Assessment of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion flagship initiative
Over two years after its launch, the Committee of the Regions will take stock of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion flagship initiative at a conference to be held on 29May 2013 in Brussels. This conference will be the fourth in a series of CoR events and monitoring initiatives surrounding the mid-term review of Europe 2020 in 2014. More news on this conference can be found on the CoR website[1].
By participating in this survey, you will:
- ensure that your views are taken into account in the debate held during the conference;
- contribute to the fourth CoR Monitoring Report on Europe 2020, to be published in October 2013;
- contribute to the CoR's consultative activity in this field over the coming months;
- contribute to the mid-term review of Europe 2020 in 2014.
If you wish to participate in this survey, Please complete this questionnaire in any eu language, using the spaces provided, and return it in text format to:
by 22 April 2013
For more information on this survey and for details on how to join the
Europe 2020 Monitoring Platform, go to:
http://portal.cor.europa.eu/europe2020/
The questionnaire is available on this website in all official languages of the EU
Contributor information[2]
Name of sender: / Petr OsvaldContact details:
(address, telephone, email) / nám. Republiky 1, 323 00 Plzeň
On behalf of:
(name of local or regional authority) / City of Pilsen (Plzeň)
Type of organisation / City/Town/Municipality Region
County/Province
Association of local and/or regional authorities
Other (please specify)
Country: / Czech Republic
Member of the EUROPE 2020 Monitoring Platform: / Yes No
Policy challenges and responses at regional and local level
BOX 1 – European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion: basic informationThis is the first time ever that the objective of reducing poverty has been identified as a quantitative target under an EU strategy. The aim of the Europe 2020 flagship initiative, the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion, is "to ensure economic, social and territorial cohesion in order to raise awareness and recognise the fundamental rights of people experiencing poverty and social exclusion, enabling them to live in dignity and take an active part in society" [3]. In particular, it outlines actions to help Member States reach the EU target of reducing poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million by the year 2020[4].
Although the average at-risk-of-poverty-and-social-exclusion rate in the EU has remained relatively stable in recent years, it varies significantly among different age groups and between the Member States. It has significantly increased in a number of countries over the last three to four years[5]: while the rate is under 20% in certain Member States such as Denmark, Germany and Luxembourg, it recently increased to 47% in Bulgaria, 40% in Latvia and 31% in Greece (2011). Furthermore, considerable differences exist between different regions in the Member States[6].
Today, the inhabitants of around one fifth of the EU's regions are particularly exposed to risks of poverty and social exclusion.
The European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion feeds into the Europe 2020 objective of inclusive growth along with the Agenda for New Skills and Jobs flagship initiative. It will also help to achieve the other objectives of smart growth (alongside the Youth on the Move flagship initiative). In particular, it contributes to the objective of achieving the Europe 2020 headline target to lift at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty and social exclusion.
The main objectives and lines of action of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion are highlighted in Box 2 below.
EU regional and local governments are responsible for about one fifth of total government expenditure for social protection and services and therefore play an important role in helping to achieve the objectives of the flagship initiative[7].
You can find more information on the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion, as seen from the local and regional authorities' viewpoint, on the European Commission's Europe 2020 portal[8] and in the Committee of the Regions' publication Delivering on the Europe 2020 Strategy. Handbook for Local and Regional Authorities[9]. General information on Europe 2020 can be found on the strategy's official website[10] and on the website of DG Employment.[11].
1) What are the main challenges currently facing your region/city in terms of (i) preventing child poverty (ii) providing decent housing conditions and (iii) combating the social exclusion of vulnerable groups?
The main problems in these areas at present are due in large part to the international economic crisis and the ensuing restrictive budgetary measures – indeed, the current adverse consequences of the crisis on the social situation of urban dwellers is becoming more and more marked. Prime among these are:
• High and rapidly deteriorating unemployment: measured in relation to all the population in the given age range, the jobless figure in Plzeň district is 6.2% as at 28 February 2013; as a percentage of those in work it is over 7%.
• Falling disposable and real household incomes (level of essential household expenditure, unemployment, etc.)
• High indebtedness/over-indebtedness of low-income households in particular.
For the local authority, these areas break down as follows:
(i) Inadequate financial and legislative options for implementing effective measures: high unemployment
(ii) Inadequate financial and legislative options for implementing effective measures: high unemployment, lack of social housing flats
(iii) Inadequate financial and legislative options for implementing effective measures: high unemployment.
2) Please briefly describe what type of policy programmes/actions are being implemented in your city/region in the policy areas covered by the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion, highlighting their specific contribution to the above targets (see Box 1).
Under the terms of the Community Plan for the Development of Social Services in the City of Plzeň 2008-2015, an implementation plan is established annually in collaboration with all stakeholders to react to the situation in the social sphere for the given period. How these particular measures are then implemented depends on the interest of service providers. If they secure grants from another entity to carry them out, the city will support them with prefinancing, cofinancing, setting up a partnership or other non-financial support. The Community Plan defines all the key target groups of service users and areas of care:
· Family, children and young people
· Socially excluded areas and the homeless
· People with disabilities
· Senior citizens
· Foreigners and immigrants
In line with the Community Plan and the implementation plan for the particular period, the following grant programmes are announced in addition to those for running social services:
· Healthcare and support for the disabled and the elderly
· Support for those with health problems
· Integration of foreigners and support for minority activities
· Social and other services and activities in the social sphere
· Active pro-family policy
Grant programmes are further defined under particular grant headings based on the current situation and the implementation plan for the given period.
Above and beyond these measures, the city of Plzeň carries out the following projects and activities through its social services department:
· "Integration of foreigners at local authority level – Tackling the issue of people migrating to the city of Plzeň for work" – a project implemented since 2008 in collaboration with the interior ministry's department for asylum and immigration policy. Its activities respond to current difficulties of the target group of foreigners and seek to improve their integration into the majority population.
· "Distribution of school books and materials for children from socially disadvantaged families" – a project centring on material support in the form of free school materials for children of families at risk of social exclusion. The project has been implemented successfully in collaboration with non-profit organisations since the end of 2011. Its goals are:
· Support for the education of children from families at risk of social exclusion and poverty
· Prevention of discrimination
· Support for integration.
· "Food help" – a project to provide material support for low-income population groups, especially large families, single parents and the elderly
· "Providing services for the homeless" – a project to provide services to the homeless in the event of insufficient capacity on the part of existing facilities in the city
· "Immediate humanitarian help to foreigners in difficult social circumstances" – a project that seeks to deliver immediate material help to foreigners living and working in the city and experiencing temporary financial difficulties (e.g., costs of vital healthcare, medicines, accommodation, and travel costs)
· "Education support and mentoring" – a project to support the education of children and young people from socially excluded areas
All these projects are carried out in collaboration with non-profit organisations (social service providers) or other public institutions and municipal departments.
3) Are any of the policy programmes/actions described in the above question carried out in partnership with different tiers of government and/or with other stakeholders (regional or local NGOs, representatives of the social partners, the business sector or service providers). If yes, please state (a) the administrative levels involved (b) the practical arrangements taken to manage such joint action (c) who the main partners were and (d) how you worked with them (work organisation and time).
The city is continuing to participate in framing the Community Plan for the Development of Social Services in the City of Plzeň 2008-2015 and the various implementation plans for a given period (always one year) by taking part in the working groups of the following entities: social services providers and users; representatives of the city and non-profit organisations, or of interested parties from professional circles or the public at large.
The following bodies are involved in follow-up measures once projects have been implemented: the city of Plzeň, in particular via its social services department or other municipality departments; social services providers and other non-profit organisations; other municipal or regional/national bodies (such as the interior ministry, the regional office of Plzeň region), and private entities.
Platforms and working groups are frequently used for monitoring the situation as it develops and for discussing possible projects to implement. The timescale for collaboration on these measures depends in each case on the scope and nature of the project.
4) Ensuring effective access to and participation in cultural activities for all is an essential part of promoting an inclusive society. In what way can participation in cultural and creative activities be instrumental for helping people and communities overcome poverty and social exclusion? Please refer to specific examples and existing initiatives.
Experience in post-industrial areas abroad in the 1990s shows that physical and economic regeneration of cities and regions is not enough in itself to renew "social landscapes": it is also vital to boost the roles of culture and community as key instruments for improving the population's quality of life. The city of Plzeň either a) supports this kind of social and cultural activity for selected target groups threatened by social exclusion and social poverty, or b) in some case itself implements such activity via its social services department and on its own initiative.
Some examples of these projects and activities:
· Dance evenings for senior citizens – a series of evenings on different themes for the elderly (since 2012)
· "Handicapped? So what!" – people with disabilities display their skills and activities, combined with presentation of selected social services for this target group (2009 to 2011)
· Nimble Hands – exhibition and sale of goods from sheltered workshops, demonstration of skills and activities of those with disabilities and a presentation of social services for this target group (since 2012)
· Senior citizens entertain Senior Citizens – a social and cultural event for the elderly (since 2010)
· "Hodíme se do pohody" – a social and cultural leisure event for parents and children (since 2010)
· The world begins in Plzeň – multicultural festival held at traditional markets on Republic square (2009 and 2010) – music, curiosities and culinary specialities of minorities living in Plzeň
· Christmas gatherings for foreigners in Plzeň – traditional cultural events for foreigners living and working in the municipality (since 2009).
How is the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion relevant to your city or region?
BOX 2 - European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion: main objectives and actionsThe specific objectives of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion are[12] [13]:
· to support the eradication of child poverty. Over 20 million children are at risk of poverty in Europe today. This risk rises to 25% for children who live in large families and is over 30% in the case of children who live in single parent families;
· to promote the active inclusion in society and on the labour market of the most vulnerable groups since unemployment is the principal cause of poverty among the working-age population. The risk of poverty for the unemployed is more than five times greater than in the case of people in employment;
· to provide decent housing for everyone. Homelessness and housing exclusion represent one of the most extreme forms of poverty and have increased in recent years. Fuel poverty, which risks depriving households not only of heating or air conditioning but also hot water, light and other essential domestic necessities, is another example of severe deprivation;
· to overcome discrimination and increase the social integration of people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, immigrants and other vulnerable groups. For example, older people face a higher risk of poverty compared to the overall population; moreover, in some countries older people are at particular risk of material deprivation;
· to tackle financial exclusion and over-indebtedness which arise from a lack of access to basic banking services, a situation which has been aggravated by the recent crisis. It can also be an obstacle to finding a job and thus lead to persistent marginalisation and poverty;
· to promote the integration of Roma. Certain ethnic minorities, of whom Roma are the largest group, and migrant people in general, are disproportionately affected by multiple deprivation.
The specific actions and tools at EU level are structured as follows[14] [15]:
· improved access to work, social security, essential services (healthcare, housing, etc.) and education;
· better use of EU funds to support social inclusion and combat discrimination;
· social innovation to identify smart solutions in post-crisis Europe, especially in terms of more effective and efficient social support;
· new partnerships such as those between the public and the private sector;
· enhanced policy coordination among the Member States;
· provision of food to the most deprived people, as well as clothing and other essential goods to homeless people and materially-deprived children[16].
5) Which of the objectives and lines of action of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion (listed in Box 2) are most relevant for the current situation in your region/city? To what extent have they encouraged you to set more ambitious policy goals at regional/local level? Please explain your answer.
1. Helping to eradicate child poverty or trying to prevent social poverty and social exclusion in all target groups
2. Supporting the active integration of the most vulnerable groups into society and the labour market
3. Providing dignified accommodation to all and giving them a real chance of dignified and suitable housing on the same conditions for all, thus helping make up for the disadvantages of various groups of the population
4. Tackling financial exclusion and over-indebtedness
5. Supporting the integration all groups at risk of social exclusion, especially Roma and foreigners.
When it comes to political objectives, action from central government is essential for tackling the adverse social situation at the present time. The local authority has a minimum of powers in the area of employment and social protection and can only exercise an indirect influence by performing related support activities.
BOX 3 – Social Investment Package[17] [18]: