The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hopes that its biennial conference dedicated to education about how to combat social exclusion (Florence, 20-22 May) will encourage the European Commission to produce a green paper. It does not intend to confine itself to stressing the importance of social exclusion in the EU, but will take an initial political step towards new EU legislation on inclusion, based on revising the education and training policies of the EU and the member states.

Experts, sociologists and education representatives attending the conference emphasised this message to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, present in Florence on 22 May. “Acquiring as many skills as possible through education and training helps to fight poverty and exclusion and create new possibilities for inclusion and employment,” said EESC President Mario Cepi. “We can’t wait for the crisis to be over, in line with the outdated and fading idea that opting for inclusive education is a purely social issue,” added Stella Targetti, Vice-President of the Tuscany region. “It is also a challenge on the economic front, because no country can afford to bar one in every four of its citizens from producing and consuming.»

Also participating in the biennial event was the Italian Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini, the Greek Education Minister Anna Diamantopoulou and the Belgian Education Minister Marie-Dominique Simonet; the Spanish Minister for Equality Bibiana Aido Almagro; one of the authors of the report on the future of the EU 2030, Mario Monti, and MEPs.

In Europe, 17% of citizens lack the financial resources they need. n