An Action Plan for the Social economy, the Future plan for care workers and care services – local and regional opportunities in the context of a European challenge, a Union of Equality, the New European Bauhaus, the Horizon Europe Missions, Individual Learning Accounts (ILA) and the Pact for Skills were the main points discussed by EPP-CoR members during today’s SEDEC Commission meeting.
An Action Plan for the Social economy
The EPP Cor-members stresses that the social economy is an important "provider" in education, health care, energy transition, housing and the delivery of social services. In the context of the Coronavirus crisis the sector has not only been creating profit but also values and thus new business logic has become more visible.
”There is a need for support the training and life-long learning access of social economy workers in areas of digitalisation and the green transition, in order to enter or remain in the labour market of social economy enterprises. I raise awarness that the main difficulties faced by social economy enterprises and organisations are the lack of a secure and predictable system of financing social services from the central level to local authorities.” Underlined Borboly Csaba, President of Harghita County Council.
Horizon Europe Missions
The EPP CoR members talked about the mission-oriented research and innovation policy adopted in Horizon Europe that can be an excellent approach to address challenges faced by people in their daily lives. From a research and innovation perspective it is also an opportunity to reduce policy fragmentation, interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration, and strengthen public engagement through the involvement of regional and local innovation ecosystems.
"Observing the growing number of challenges in our cities and regions, especially in the era of the pandemic crisis, we can see that changes we want to bring about require innovative and bold actions. And these are offered by Missions of the Horizon programme. I hope that our achievements in this area will allow the cities that face an environmental crisis to catch up with the more advanced and green ones, so that no municipality is left behind in terms of ecology and health." said Hanna Zdanowska, Mayor of Łódź.
Future plan for care workers and care services – local and regional opportunities in the context of a European challenge
The EPP-CoR sees the shortage of skilled workers caring for people in need as an opportunity for the cities and regions to address the reasons for such a shortage. This certainly applies to those regions whose systems rely on staff from neighbouring countries, which were confronted with short-term staff shortages due to pandemic-related border closures. However, the EPP also stresses that caretakers coming from neighboring countries are often long-term residents in the states where they offer their professional services.
President of Harghita County Council, Borboly Csaba said: "The European Commission should guarantee financial instruments directly accessible for cities and regions. Also, while considering the short-term staff shortages due to pandemic-related border closures, it is also important to consider the long-term negative effects of migration of care workers from less developed regions to more developed ones, as this creates a situation where the access of aging population from these less developed regions to care services is gravely affected by the severe staff shortages. As part of changing the image of the caring professions, there is a need to launch campaigns among youth and young professionals."
A Union of Equality
The EPP stresses that respect towards LGBTIQ people has increased over the years, and acceptance and inclusion have become a common value within the European societies, especially between younger generations. Aligns with the rapporteur's remark concerning regression in respect of EU values, with authorities continuously using anti-LGBTIQ rhetoric, but stresses that this is limited to some territories and groups of people, rather than being a widespread attitude.
Maria Walsh, Irish EPP member of the European Parliament said: "When we talk about equality, we must acknowledge that LGBTIQ people live all over Europe including in local and rural areas. Together with local and regional authorities, we need to ensure equality for all and tackle hate speech."
New European Bauhaus
Markku Markkula, President of the Helsinki Region, stressed the need for European mental renewal. He said that "Bauhaus will have a strong influence on Carbon Neutrality in Built Environments and Construction. Physical, mental, and virtual spaces go hand-in-hand. To make the transformation happen, everything should be based on an increasing commitment to culture and learning, meaning above all mental models, team learning, and systems thinking."
"The New European Bauhaus is a very interesting concept for shaping Europe after the pandemic. As a member of the Green Deal Going Local working group, I am particularly pleased to see such a strong emphasis on ecology. I believe that this initiative will contribute to the effective implementation of the Green Deal assumptions in housing. I think serious consideration should be given to including national and European city networks as partners of this programme. Moreover, it is also essential that we, the local authorities, join in the popularisation of this idea by using our communication channels for residents." highlighted Hanna Zdanowska, Mayor of Łódź.