Address by the Secretary of State for Social Security to the conference "Intergenerational solidarity for sustainable and cohesive societies", in Brdo, Slovenia
I would like to start by thanking the Slovenian Presidency [of the EU] for the invitation to be here, on behalf of the Portuguese Government, in the context of the Trio of Presidencies – an experience of partnership which has been fruitful and delivers results.
One of the results, from my point of view, besides the close cooperation between our countries, is the high level of coherence and coordination in the approaches along the 18 months.
The German presidency has promoted a conference on ageing and, helping us to look on the positive side of demographic change.
In turn, the Portuguese presidency organised in Lisbon, in past November, as you may recall, a conference on the sustainability of pension systems. That conference has helped to bring to light important findings on different dimensions of pension reform and has sought to foster an integrated European perspective to national reforms.
Let me underline this: we did not choose that topic by chance. We chose it because pensions are a cornerstone of social protection models, and undergoing reforms in virtually all EU countries – including my own. And the truth is pension systems are probably the most powerful instrument for social cohesion, including in the intergenerational perspective; and, also, a decisive battlefield for sustainability – not only of pensions, but of social and economic models as a whole. So I can see direct links between that work and the work being carried out here – and I think this is a very positive note.
Now, the Slovenian Presidency organises a conference which allows us to look at these and other problems from a broader angle – the angle of relations and balances between generations themselves. It is a great opportunity to discuss this crucial issue. It points not only to demographic change but to the overall social structure and to the mechanisms of solidarity and cohesion within societies.
So, it is not a matter of protocol but a matter of justice to thank the Slovenian Presidency for organising this conference. And for promoting a debate which allows us to widen the way we think about many of the key challenges Europe is facing today.
Intergenerational solidarity has direct links with demographic change, of course. But also with employment, social protection and flexicurity. Also with the issues of active ageing, care policies, family patterns and structures, the quality of personal and family life.
In fact, as the title of the conference rightly underlines, the issue of intergenerational solidarity has direct bridges to two core concepts of our present political and social debates: the issue of cohesion – and specifically social cohesion – and the issue of sustainability.
I would like to say a few words about each of them.
Let me begin with, sustainability. One of the most clear and established trends in European debates and reforms is the emergence of sustainability as a decisive criterium for the coherence and adequacy of policy reform. In the light of social and demographic change and also in the light of the new global economic conditions, the concept of sustainability has become a central issue.
Gradually, the concept has been broadened and in recent debates a new concept of sustainability has emerged. The European Council of December 2007 has established the idea of sustainability with three branches: financial sustainability, economic sustainability and social sustainability.
This means that when we discuss economic and social change, and especially when we analyse the implications of social protection and economic reforms we must not focus exclusively on the narrow dimension of financial resources and public finances. We must look closely at the economic and employment implications; and we must look closely at the impacts of reforms for the social conditions and well-being of citizens, throughout different generations.
What are the consequences of reforms to employment patterns? Are social needs met? Do the measures that are designed have positive or negative impacts on the adequacy of social policies? We cannot do reforms overlooking these issues. Because at the end of the day, they will prove more costly from the structural and long-term point of view, if we choose to overlook them.
So, sustainability has been – correctly – broadened to look in an integrated and balanced way to these different dimensions: financial sustainability; economic sustainability; and social sustainability. The issue of intergenerational solidarity is, I think, a good example of how a single issue can – and should – be looked simultaneously from these different perspectives.
The link between economic and social adequacy and financial sustainability of social protections systems, for different generations, immediately raises significant challenges for policy makers, in terms of intergenerational impact and sharing of costs or advantages of our decisions.
But this broader view has another advantage: it allows for immediate links to the terms of the Lisbon Agenda. In fact, these three dimensions of sustainability are closely related to the three main branches of the Lisbon goals: economic growth, employment (more and better jobs) and social cohesion. By working with that more integrated framework, we ensure the capacity to touch on different priorities of our strategic long-term view; we increase the impact potential of our policy debates; and, not least, we reinforce coherence between different European instruments and approaches – which, as you know, is key to their efficiency.
So, in my view, and in the light of recent developments, sustainability and cohesion are not different agendas. They are closely inter-related, almost as two faces of the same coin: the modern and recalibrated European Social Model.
We can only achieve social cohesion in the long-term if we make social cohesion sustainable. And we can only achieve sustainability of our economic and social models if we ensure the adequate conditions of social cohesion to our citizens.
Again, the intergenerational dimension of social cohesion is decisive, and the demographic and social changes of recent decades raise complex issues. This is true in economic and financial terms, of course; but it is above all essential in order to rethink the ways by which our societies deal with the renewed and ever changing needs for cohesion.
This conference will deal with many of the issues that are crucial for such debates, helping us to think jointly about its implications for sustainability and social cohesion – which are, in turn, major issues in the context of the social and political agendas, not only at the national level but at the European level as such.
I hope that this conference helps us to find common problems and trends, a path of analysis and action, as well as ways to deal with the specific aspects of the situation in different countries.
I do believe there is room for further coordinated action in these fields. In fact, I do believe that it would be of utmost relevance for Member-States, for the European project, and for citizens themselves.
So I would like to call for sustainability and social cohesion to become more visible and better incorporated into the core of our common strategic instruments – and a good example, and a good test to European capacity to do so, will be the revision of the Social Agenda, and the revised National Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion.
I wish you all two days of fruitful work. I am sure that the results of recent debates, during different presidencies of the Council, and now what will be discussed here in the context of intergenerational solidarity, will be taken as an important basis of “feeding in” material to the European policy instruments and agendas.