By Martin Banks - 24th February 2009
We have to look increasingly at the social implications of EU policies
Jean Lambert
EU policymaking on issues like climate change and tackling the economic crisis must take into account the "social dimension," a Brussels conference has heard.
UK Greens MEP Jean Lambert, a keynote speaker at the event in Brussels on Tuesday, said that the social impact of "unsustainable development" is becoming a "major" concern.
"It cannot all be about targets for this and that. The gap between the rich and poor in Europe is widening and I am calling on the commission to take this into account in all of its future policies," she said.
The conference on "social fairness in sustainable development", gathered together policy makers, researchers, representatives of international organisations and civil society.
Its aim, said Lambert, was to try to reconcile the goals of the Lisbon treaty and, more recently, the energy and climate package, with those of the wider society.
"A key issue is how the EU institutions intend to link these issues. We should not just be talking about targets for reducing CO2 emissions or meeting the Lisbon treaty goals.
"We also have to look increasingly at the social implications of EU policies. This means ensuring that people in the poorest parts of the world have access to clean water.
"We have to remember that though we might be suffering in the EU right now, the hardship caused in developing countries is much, much worse."
Organised by the European commission, the one-day conference was told by Philippe Van Parijs, professor of social and economic ethics at the University of Louvain in Belgium, that the "relentless" trend of rising food and energy prices "directly" affects vulnerable groups in the EU and other parts of the developed world.
He said these issues should now be at the "top of the agenda" of social policymakers.
A project in Romania was cited as an example of the 'social' aspect of policymaking. The waste management project, in Ramnicu Valcea, aims to replace "old" landfill sites with new, ecological ones.
Irina Sandulescu, who hosted an exhibition of the project at the conference, said, "It is both environmentally and economically friendly because it aims to improve the environment and create jobs.
"This is the sort of thing we mean when we talk about the social dimension of EU policymaking."
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