EESC opinion: Programme for social change and innovation

Key points

The EESC would like the Commission to define objectives for "social innovation" and "social change" in its Programme for Social Change and Innovation (PSCI). These are experimental concepts. The aim should not be to replace national social systems or employment legislation.

The EESC would like to have written clauses included in the programme under review guaranteeing that social innovation activities would complement rather than compete with Member State social rights and systems and would not undermine the legal certainty which these rights and systems provide.

The EESC recommends that the Commission's draft takes into account the objective of harmonising national social rights in order to resolve disparities, thus facilitating mobility.

The EESC would like the Commission to explain the expected benefits of the synergies mentioned in the case of the three programmes (Progress, EURES and Microfinance), the links to European funds (in particular the ESF and the ESEF), and how the rules for managing these programmes are compatible - an aspect which is not entirely clear.

The EESC would like the role of the social partners and NGOs to be clearly reflected in the three axes of the PSCI.

The EESC would like a flexibility clause to be added to the PSCI enabling it to be adjusted after a mid-term review.

The EESC feels that if the three axes are to remain within the same programme, its title should be changed to "Programme for supporting social progress, mobility and inclusion".