An EP Employment and Social Affairs Committee delegation attended the 48th meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), from 2 to 5 February, on social integration, a theme at the heart of EP work in the context of the 2010 European year on « Poverty and social inclusion ».

« The risk of growing social inequality as a result of the crisis makes it even more important for the EU, after the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty, to be present in the forum where these concerns are addressed at worldwide level », said Employment and Social Affairs Committee Chairwoman Pervenche Berès (S&D, FR), who led the delegation.

The 48th session of the UN Commission for Social Development, part of the UN ECOSOC, focuses on social integration, a theme on which the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee has done substantial work and is at the heart of the 2010 year on “Poverty and social inclusion”.

The main purpose of the visit was to strengthen links with the UN Commission on Social Development and thus to promote the external dimension of EU social policies in line with the soon to be adopted 2020 strategy.

The EP delegation to New-York was composed of eight MEPs: Elisabeth Morin-Chartier (EPP Vice-Coordinator, FR), Regina Bastos (EPP, PT), Edit Bauer (EPP, SK), Vincenzo Iovine (ALDE, IT), Milan Cabrnoch (ECR, CZ), Thomas Händel (GUE/NGL, DE) and Francesco Speroni (EFD, IT).

The EP delegation met chair of the 48th Session of the Commission on Social Development and Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the UN Mr Leslie Kojo Christian, ECOSOC President and Malaysia’s Permanent Representative Mr Hamidon Ali, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Mr Sundaram Kwame Jomo, and and Acting Director in the Social Policy and Development Division Mr Jean-Pierre Gonnot.

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