EUROSOCIAL II

PROGRAM

Is a cooperation initiative launched in 2005 by the European Commission to promote social cohesion in Latin America.

Its main objective is to support national public policies aimed at improving the levels of social cohesion, as well as strengthen the Institutions which implement them.

Eurosocial es more than a technical cooperation program: not only was it conceived at the highest possible political level; it was actually born to promote a political concept – social cohesion – and has thus far contributed to structuring a certain amount of political consensus around the need to re-orient public policies towards the achievement of a larger cohesion amongst our societies.

EUROSOCIAL

Areas: Justice, Education, Employment, Taxation, Health.Participants: over 9,000 persons and 1,700 institutionsSome results: • Larger dissemination and absorption of the conceptual framework of social cohesion in Latin America. Rising acceptance levels. It has become an anchor value. • 100 rules of Brasilia, regarding access to the justice system for people in a vulnerable state• Trainer network for indigenous people• Tax Administrations network which, in 2009 already counted with 276 institutions: 194 from

Latin America, 64 from the European Union and 18 supranational. • Latin American network for Education and Imprisonment Contexts to promote integral and

integrated public policies which favor attention to education within the context of an imprisonment

• Creation of Social Defense Structures – Providing health care to the town of Wayuu venezuelan/colombo – Training of professionals in Paraguay

• Fiscal education in El Salvador

EUROSOCIAL I (2005-2009)

Examples of success stories

• Agreed upon at the “Heads of State and Government Summit” between EU – LA

• Duration: 4 years (2011-2014)

• Budget: 40 M€ (56M US$)

• Recipients: 18 Latin American countries

• Execution: consortium led by the FIIAPP and made up of approximately 90 public entities from EU and LA

BASIC DATA EUROSOCIAL II

RESULTS AND PROGRAM TOOLS

EXPECTED RESULTS

The actions of the program must be designed in accordance with the needs and demands of the Latin American countries, and must strive to achieve results in one or more of the following areas:

→ policy-making and/or implementation of reforms; → problem solving within the design and/or execution of policies; → design and/or implementation of strategic plans or programs within

the policies framework.

¿WHAT TOOLS DOES IT USE?Through actions of technical collaboration amongst counterpart public institutions from different countries (between EU and LA public administrations, as well as between LA public administrations amongst themselves).

Visits of one or more of the LA countries to other EU and/or LA countries to get to know the other´s policies, tools and available services.

Exchange workshops between countries, development of evaluations between counterparts

Technical advice awarded to a country´s Ministry (by the public administration of one or more countries) to accompany the reform, design and/or policy implementation, plan, etc. Process.

Creation of common products between Latin American countries partnered in one same action

Types of technical collaboration actions between counterpart public institutions from different countries (combined amongst them)

Training activities, using learning methods such as e-learning

Preferentially binds more latin american institutions with similar demands and that take the initiavie to work as a group in a same action

TOOLS

TOOLS

The transfer process between public administrations ,regarding lessons learned and good practices, pertaining design, application, policy management and institutional procedures with repercussions on social cohesion.

Exchange needs always originate in the Latin American public administrations. Relevant experiences can be searched for in both Latin America and in Europe.

Strategic Policies within each Government´s Agenda that will be supported

During the formulation stage of the second phase of the program, the European Commission identified the most pressing needs of LA governments. As a result of this exercise we obtain 10 areas of intervention:

AXES AREA OF INTEREST

I. Universal access to quality social services

1. Health 2. Education

II. Social protection and promotion of active employment policies

3. Institutionalization and Development of Public Social Policies 4. Active Employment Policies

III. Tax systems and public finances which better enable the redistribution and efficiency of expenditures

 

5. Public finances

IV. Democratic institutions, coordination between the different government levels, promotion of legality and fight against corruption.

6. Democratic Institutions

7. Social dialogue 

8. Decentralization

V. Public security, rights and access to justice

9. Citizen security 10. Justice

INTERVENTION AREAS

AREA OF INTEREST

GUIDELINE

Institutionalization and development of social policies

Strengthening of those Institutions responsible of coordinating social policies

- Improve the design of the social policies management system as well as that of the institutional structures.- Reinforce internal expertise in specific subjects such as, for example, design and management of national plans, intersectoral coordination and between the different levels of government, its evaluation and uses, and information systems, among others.

Design and/or implementation of social protection systems, with particular emphasis on the fight against poverty.

- Support the design or review of social politics both at a global level as well as towards specific target populations (extreme poverty, youth).-Support the transition process from the original plans and programs up to the protection systems conceived with an overall perspective, meaning: inclusive, universalist and intersectoral positions.

SOCIAL PROTECTION AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDELINES

AREA OF INTEREST

GUIDELINE

Active employment policies

Promotion of youth employment

-Support reforms or improvements of high school and professional education curricula. -Support the design and implementation of ad hoc measures to smooth the process of youth insertion in the labor markets.

Employment policies and national services

-Support the design or reform processes for labor policies.-Support the improvement on the system components, chief among them employment services and job placement.

Coordination between social protection and active employment policies

-Support the coordination of welfare benefits for the poorest population sectors as well as for the unemployed, providing job training and other similar measures , aimed at the insertion/reinsertion of these persons into the labor markets.- Support the strengthening of the social dialogues mechanisms.

SOCIAL PROTECTION AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDELINES

1st EXCHANGE AND PROGRAMMING MEET(scheduled to take place in Brazil, October 2011)SUBJECT: Institutional management of social policies, with special emphasis on the following aspects: (a) evaluation (ex ante and of results); (b) information systems (for action management as well as beneficiary identification and follow up); (c) coordination amongst ministries and the different levels of government.

2nd EXCHANGE AND PROGRAMMING MEET(scheduled to take place in Central America, Oct. or Nov. 2011)SUBJECT: Active policies for Youth employment with emphasis on two areas: (a) Orderly school-job transition; (b) policies, devices and services to ease

youth insertion in the labor market.

ACTION SCHEDULING

RIPSO´s priorities definitely present a clear convergence with EUROSOCIAL guidelines and vice-versa.

COMPLEMENTARITY BETWEEN EUROSOCIAL AND RIPSO

RIPSO PRIORITIES EUROSOCIAL PRIORITIES

AS: Intersectoral coordination of social policies Strengthening of institutions responsible for the coordination of social policies.

AS: Job promotion and generation of income for vulnerable populations

Design and/or implementation of the social protection systems, with particular emphasis on the fight against poverty

AS: Integral social protection strategies Promotion of youth labor

AC: Evaluation and monitoring of social programs

National labor policies and services

AC: Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger (goal 1 ODM)

Coordination between social protection and active employment policies

AC: Institutional strengthening of social policy agencies

• Even though the network promoted by OAS includes a wider range of countries, RIPSO and EUROSOCIAL have common objectives, their work is based on existing demands and their tool menu (offer) is very similar as well.

• RIPSO is also a partner of the EUROSOCIAL program.

• EUROSOCIAL counts among its chief acting criteria, defined by the European Commission: (a) privilege the regional dimension; (b) ease cooperation processes between Latin American countries; (c) insure coordination with other programs and initiatives within the region.

• EUROSOCIAL aims to establish a strategic alliance with RIPSO, as well as with other existing networks in Latin America. This has very specific reasons: the superimposition and dispersion of analog initiatives carries very negative consequences for all, and chiefly for the countries themselves; working in coordination and even synergy among each other, enhances the ability to impact the various actors pursuing similar objectives.

COMPLEMENTARITY WITH RIPSO

The added value of EUROSOCIAL for RIPSO:

– Incorporates the experience of various public European administrations and policies within the exchange network and the cooperation among counterparts (in a crucial historic moment for the future of the European Social State)

– Works from an intersectoral point of view to face the problems and challenges of social protection

– Counts with an ample methodological trajectory in the matter

– Its resources are added to those already in existence to promote exchange and cooperation

COMPLEMENTARITY NEEDS TO BE PLANNED. THERE ARE ACTIVITIES WHICH MAY BE ASSUMED JOINTLY, WHILE OTHERS NEED TO BE DEVELOPED EXCLUSIVELY WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF RIPSO, WITHOUT INTERVENTION FROM EUROSOCIAL, AND VICE-VERSA.IN ORDER TO DO THIS, BOTH INITIATIVES MUST SHARE INFORMATION REGARDING REQUESTS AND OFFERS, AS WELL AS THEIR RESPECTIVE WORK PLANS.

COMPLEMENTARITY WITH RIPSO

SOCIAL INVESTMENT EUROPE / LATIN AMERICA

ArgentinaBrasil

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

El Salva

dor

Guatemala

México

Nicaragua

Panamá

ParaguayPerú

República Dominica

na

Uruguay

Alemania

Austria

Bélgica

Dinamarca

Eslova

quia

España

Finlandia

Francia

Grecia

Hungría

Irlanda

Italia

Luxe

mburgo

Países B

ajos

Polonia

Portugal

Reino Unido

República Checa

Suecia0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Social public expenditure as a GDP percentage ( LA and EU)

Besides Argentina, Brazil and Costa Rica, average social spending for Latin American countries is 10 points lesser than the EU average.± 23% EU average ± 13% LA average

Fuente: Cepalstat 2007

SOCIAL COHESION EUROPE/ LATIN AMERICA

In LA the inequality problem persists, the average Gini in LA es 0,50 in comparisson to the EU´s 0,30

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Social cohesion indicators: Income ratio between the richest and poorest quintile in LA and the EU

Fuente: Cepalstat 2008

EU STRATEGIES FOR SOCIAL PROTECTION

According to the 2011 report from the Social Protection Committee regarding the social dimension of the “European Strategy 2020”, the main priorities and measures adopted by member states to fight poverty and social exclusion are related to:

• Increasing employment rates and favoring a more inclusive labor market. (Better access for vulnerable groups to public employment services and training, the inclusion of women in the labor markets, people with handicaps, and more efficient incentives).

• Guarantee the sustainability of social protection through reforms on the pension systems, and to improve the impact of the social transference devices on the poorest population.

• Reinforce active inclusion strategies.• Improve the quality of the services, specially in regards to life-long access to and health

care itself, as well as housing.• Fight against child poverty, through the integral protection of families. • Assistance to the elderly living in poverty. • Support to groups at risk (immigrants, handicapped, etc.)