Social and employment experts believe the EU’s 2020 plans still do not go far enough in pushing for a Europe of solidarity and sustainability, though some felt there were slight improvements on previous drafts.

French MEP Pervenche Berès, head of the European Parliament’s employment committee, told EurActiv that the current plans ignore the weaknesses of the Lisbon Strategy and will not build a sustainable Europe.

In particular, she argued that the draft wrongly focuses on exit strategies in terms of fiscal consolidation, while paying nothing more than minimal lip service to the fight against poverty and social exclusion – notionally a key priority for the EU in 2010.

« The Commission’s approach to poverty reduction is closer to charity than to a real commitment to fighting social inequalities, » she claimed, adding that « this shows a complete lack of understanding for the causes that lead to the current crisis: i.e. social inequalities, growing divergences within the EU and global imbalances ».

Draft strategy letting women and young people down?

Further criticism came from gender equality campaigners, who believe the draft plans represent a step backwards in the EU’s drive for full parity.

Describing themselves as « alarmed » by the Commission’s lack of vision, the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) told EurActiv that the plans do not sufficiently address equality between women and men, even though women have accounted for a quarter of economic growth every year since 1995.

As a result, the EWL is calling for equality targets to be put at the heart of the 2020 strategy, for a firm commitment to closing the gender pay gap by 2020, for the development of a care sector that offers its employees better working conditions and those employing them more options, and for « real lessons to be drawn from the financial crisis ».

The European Youth Forum, too, described aspects of the draft as « incomplete ». In particular, it believes that ‘Youth on the Move’ – the strategy’s flagship initiative for education – will assist the job prospects of the highly educated at the expense of those who have the least educational opportunities.

With only 30% of Europe’s young people today completing higher education, the draft must « dare to set an ambitious benchmark for youth participation mobility, » said forum president Tine Radinja.

New draft is better, say social NGOs

There were minor whispers of encouragement from some quarters, however. Conny Reuter, president of the Social Platform of European NGOs, argued that the Commission has improved the social dimension in its latest draft.

« It’s very encouraging that the Commission has agreed to propose a more social EU 2020 agenda and to make the fight against poverty one of the priorities of the strategy, » he told EurActiv.

He nonetheless cautioned that « you can’t score without knowing where the goalposts are – the strategy needs a poverty reduction target with the delivery mechanisms and financial resources to reach it ».