1. The Social Investment Package (SIP) -20 February 2013
Dublin, 15 May 2013 Rob Cornelissen

2. Introduction: the package
Communication "Towards social investment for growth and cohesion"
Recommendation on investing in children
Series of Staff working documents such as:
Evidence of demographic and social trends
Follow-up on implementation by MS of 2008 Commission Recommendation on active inclusion of people excluded from labour market

3. Introduction Targets Europe 2020 strategy:
Lifting at least 20 million out of poverty and social exclusion
Increasing employment of population to 75%
Reducing rates of early school leavers below 10% and achieving at least 40% of years old completing third level education

4. Why SIP? Demographic development Economic and financial crisis
Increased ageing and dependency ratios
Economic and financial crisis
High unemployment: 10,7% (26 million!)
Very high youth unemployment: 23,2%
Increased level of poverty/social exclusion: 120 million people at risk of poverty
Fiscal constraints
Deficit reduction-reviewing public spending

5. Main messages SIP
Ensure sustainable and adequate social protection by spending more efficiently and effectively (ex: simplify systems, reduce fraud)
Invest in people throughout life: improve people's opportunities to integrate in society and labour market: education, childcare, healthcare, training, job-search assistance
Ensure that social protection systems respond to people's needs. Invest early to prevent hardship later: children and young people

6. Social investment approach
Developing human capital gives people the skills and capabilities to participate in society
Empowering and supporting people in crucial stages of their lives, starting in childhood
Prevention keeps larger economic and social costs from arising in future

7. Social investment. When?
As early as needed in order to prevent disadvantage later:
Child policies, including early childhood education and care
Adequate income support through efficient family and child benefits
Reducing early school leaving (54% of such leavers are unemployed!)
Implementing youth guarantee schemes
Throughout life in order to adapt to changed circumstances
Work/life reconciliation measures
Lifelong learning
Active ageing
Long term care

8. Investing in children 27% of children are at risk of poverty
Break intergenerational transmission of disadvantage
Quality and affordable child care and preschool education
Adequate income support through efficient family benefits
Supporting parent's access to labour market
Support participation of parents in paid work
Adapt child care services to diverse working patterns

9. Activating and enabling policies
Remove barriers to people's participation in society
Make work pay: targeted in-work fiscal incentives
Promote accessible childcare services to reconcile work/private life
Youth guarantee to improve young people's opportunities
Adequate income support where needed by using reference budgets
Access to services (transport, bank accounts)
Promote inclusive labour markets (address discrimination, flexible workplace arrangements)

10. How to implement the SIP?
1. Policy guidance
European semester: annual growth survey, national reform programmes, country-specific recommendations
Social Open Method of coordination: share experience and disseminate best practices
Social Protection Committee: vehicle for cooperative exchange between MS and Commission; monitor the performance of social protection systems as well as its investment dimension; contribute to methodology for designing reference budgets, report on long term care to support healthy and active ageing

11. How to implement SIP? 2. Financial support
For period at least 25% of Cohesion Policy funding should be allocated to human capital and social investment
At least 20% of total ESF resources in each MS should be allocated to thematic objective: "promoting social inclusion and combatting social exclusion"
Fund for European Aid to the most deprived
SIP offers guidance to MS how to best use EU financial support

12. How to implement SIP? 3. Specific follow-up
Proposal for Directive on access to basic bank accounts
June 2013: Commission Recommendation on Roma inclusion
Knowledge bank to disseminate examples of social investment is being developed
Preparation of tailor-made advisory services for those engaging in social policy experimentation as a tool to test social policy innovations and reforms before they are implemented (Progress programme and future Programme for Social Change and Innovation)

13. Complementary initiatives
Youth employment initiative (YEI)
Youth Guarantee scheme ( 28 February): MS should put in place measures to ensure that young people receive a good quality offer of employment, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within 4 months of leaving school or becoming unemployed
YEI : budget of 6 billion over 7 years supports young NEETS's in Union's regions with a youth unemployment rate at above 25% in order to help them to integrate in the labour market

14. Very High Youth Unemployment in Some MS
Youth unemployment rates (December 2012)
% of labour force
< 10
> 50
23.2% total youth unemployment rate in the EU
Source: European Commission

15. Thank you for your attention!