Authors Iain Begg | Gabriel Glöckler | Anke Hassel ... - The Europaeum

So far, the Cohesion Policy’s original objective of “economic and social
cohesion” seems to have had a strong economic element but a weak social
dimension. Indeed, if we look at the measures implemented through the
Cohesion Policy, the main “social” related intervention financed by the EU
budget is the European Social Fund (ESF), which has always received a
minor allocation of funding compared to the large share collected under the
ERDF. 4 The latter was created in 1957 to promote employment and make
Europe’s workforce and companies better equipped to face global challenges.
It is only recently that a reference to minorities was incorporated in the ESF
regulation, 5 but no specific actions on how to address the problem were
mentioned. In fact, little has been done under the Cohesion Policy to ensure
the economic and social inclusion of vulnerable minority groups.
… at the expense of social cohesion
The current frame of reference for EU cohesion focuses on the ongoing
aim of reducing regional economic inequality and has largely neglected
any social aspect related to diversity, i.e. social cohesion.
The Council of Europe (CoE) in its Revised Strategy for Social Cohesion
(2004) describes social cohesion as the capacity of a society to ensure the
welfare of all its members, minimising disparities and avoiding
polarisation. A cohesive society is one that has developed satisfactory
ways of managing its internal diversity in a democratic manner. In
practical terms, ensuring social cohesion means guaranteeing access to
the same rights for all, respect for dignity of others, the right for all
individuals to have the opportunity for personal development and
participation in the democratic process.
This conceptualisation therefore frames a wider understanding of cohesion
than mere convergence in income or GDP per capita among regions. The
latter is nevertheless the preferred criterion to measure the achievement
of “cohesion” in the EU. If economic and social cohesion is to be achieved,
social inequalities are just as important as regional disparities.
Furthermore, poverty, long-term unemployment, segregation and
marginalisation are issues which more harshly affect the most vulnerable
groups in society, among which are minorities.
The EU has recently redefined the scope of its Cohesion Policy with an
emphasis on reducing inequality. At the European councils of Lisbon
(2000), Nice (2000) and Stockholm (2001), member states made a
commitment to reduce the risk of poverty and social exclusion. This is
Chapter 10 – Simona Milio 143