Social exclusion: a danger for Europe’s democracies

Recommendation 2058 (2014)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 18 November 2014 (see Doc. 13636, report of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, rapporteur: Mr Mike Hancock).

1. Referring to its Resolution 2024 (2014) on “Social exclusion: a danger for Europe’s democracies”, the Parliamentary Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers deepen its commitment to the creation of a true common area of protection of social and economic rights, notably by further promoting the signature, ratification and implementation of the European Social Charter (revised) (ETS No. 163) by all member States.

2. Moreover, the Committee of Ministers should take into account the proposals addressed to member States in the above resolution in the framework of the intergovernmental work on social cohesion currently undertaken within the European Committee for Social Cohesion, Human Dignity and Equality (CDDECS).

3. In particular, the Assembly recommends that the CDDECS receive a clear mandate for developing a policy agenda against social and political exclusion, which clearly takes into account current threats to social cohesion and democracy as observed across Europe. Such a policy agenda should be followed by the development of a streamlined set of policy guidelines, tools and performance indicators to be used as reference materials by national governments and other stakeholders.

4. In addition, the Assembly recommends that the new European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG) be urged to pursue its work on a possible reference text on democracy and to examine to what extent the 12 principles set out in the “Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance at Local Level”, adopted by the Committee of Ministers in March 2008, may be used in this respect.