Mr/Mme Chair,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia* , the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Armenia align themselves with this declaration.
At the November GB last year the EU strongly supported the proposal to arrange a tripartite expert meeting to be convened in 2009. The EU welcomes the report from the Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Strategies for the Extension of Social Security Coverage, held in Geneva on September 2 – 4.
We would like to thank the Office for its professional way of organizing and handling the Expert Meeting. Organized around five thematic panel discussions, the meeting provided a rich and fruitful debate on a number of important aspects of how to extend social security to the population as a whole.
The ambition to extend the coverage of social security to all is a key challenge today, especially considering the appallingly high percentage of the world population lacking adequate social protection. The EU attaches great value to a fair distribution of the profits of the global economy. People in developing countries as well as the poor in more developed countries should benefit from a globalized economy. It is particular important that the most vulnerable also are protected during times of economic hardship and crisis. The Expert Meeting showed a growing consensus on this subject.
To our satisfaction there was unanimous support for the idea of a basic social protection floor, and the concept of a two-dimensional strategy - horizontal and vertical coverage - was largely accepted. The discussions demonstrated that there are already several countries which have succeeded in implementing all or at least some elements of the social protection floor.
There is no 'one size fits all' model of social protection. National circumstances and different levels of economic development have to be taken into account when moving forward on the path to realising the universal right to social security for all. The elements of a social protection floor must be defined locally, as must the sequencing and implementation of those elements.
However, various principles can be shared, including the extension of horizontal coverage through the implementation and expansion of a set of basic public policies aimed at delivering basic income security; and the importance of taking into account social dialogue and the gender dimension.
It is up to the States to take the necessary concrete steps, reflecting local culture and means.
Finally, we would like to reiterate our support of the idea that a basic social protection floor contributes to sustainable development, as reflected in the Chairman’s summary. In addition, we also want to emphasize the point illustrated by several speakers that there is interdependence between the development of social security and the development of the economy. Social security has proven to be an investment and a productive factor in promoting economic growth and development as well as employment and welfare.
We consider the outcome of the expert meeting as a first step towards a comprehensive framework for the social protection floor and the extension of social security coverage in its horizontal and vertical dimension. The EU looks forward to the continuation of this process that will be discussed at the ILC 2011.
Thank you, Chair
_______________* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process."