The Conference of European Churches represents in its contributions the shared opinion of many of its members across the continent. It presents positions based on an ethical approach and supported by a long-standing tradition.This background enables the churches to see the Conventionon the Future of Europe,not only as an opportunity for necessary simplification of the EU Treaties and legal and executive procedures in the future Union, but as an opportunity to clarify the ethical, spiritual and value foundations of the Union.

Churches, religions and communities of faith and conviction have made up to now several contributions to the discussion of the Convention.At various stages the CEC has contributed, either individually or in co-operation with other churches and partner organisations, to thediscussion of the generalscope and tosome specific questions addressed by the Convention :through the contributions submitted in May and September 2002 and through the oral presentation on behalf of the churches and communities of faith and conviction in theConventioncontactgroup onculture,duringthe plenary hearing of the Conventionin June 2002.

Thechurches expectthe Convention procedures to recall the valueson which the projectof European integrationwas originally based: peace and reconciliation, justice and solidarity.We also believe thattheConventionshouldnot onlydeclare thesevalues, but incorporate them in a full andcoherentwayinto the text ofthe constitutionaltreaty.In the current discussion about the social dimension of the EU we would like to offer the following contribution for consideration.

The Unionshould overcome the mistake of the past ofseparating legaland social values as well as economic and socialobjectives. The list in the Preliminary Draft of the Constitutional Treaty, as drawn up by the Presidium, includes aspects of the values of freedom and equality, but not of solidarity.The three basic values – Solidarity, Freedom and the Equality of individuals- shouldbe namedexplicitly and should be accompanied by “Justice”.In linewith theDraft, the value of“Solidarity” needs toembrace the mostimportant values which stem from it. Values and objectives need to be in mutual consonance and coherence. Therefore the list of values in the Preliminary draft of the Constitutional Treaty needs to be accompanied by:

Solidarity, both within the Union and of the Union in a single world

Freedom

Equality of individuals

Justice

Responsibility and Accountability

Sustainability

Peace and reconciliation

The constitutional list of the Union’s values should be coherent with other parts of the text. The values presented need to be consistent with the values incorporated in the other legal texts of the Union, as well as with the guarantees contained in the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

3. Objectives

The European Union is not exclusively an economic union. If solidarity and justice are recognised as basic values of the Union, this has to have a clear and visible effect with regard to the Union’s objectives and policies. The social dimension must not be introduced only as an added component to the Union’s values and objectives but as a constituent part of it with equal relevance as the economic and monetary dimensions. Most importantly, it must be recognised that there is a social dimension in each and every aspect of the work of the Union in the past, today and in the future. To take this social dimension into account in every activity must become a legally binding objective. Therefore the list of objectives as proposed in the Preliminary draft should be extended by the following social objectives reflecting the social dimension of the Union:

-equality of economic and social dimensions

-fight against poverty and social exclusion

-high level of employment in quality jobs

-solidarity between generations

-guaranteed access to social services

All Union’s policies have social implications. It must become legally binding to take these implications into account. Equality of economic and social dimensions in the Union needs to be stressed and guaranteed.

In the line of the present Draft, where the first word of each objective already reflects the level of competence of the Union for that specific objective, we would propose to add:

- realisation of the equality of the economic and social dimension

-promotion of the fight against poverty and social exclusion

-promotion of a high level of employment in quality jobs

-promotion of solidarity between generations

-encouragement of a guaranteed access to social services.

The conclusions of the Lisbon summit of the EU provide the background for the Union’s activity in a number of social fields. Of particular relevance is the fight against social exclusion, which should be seen not purely as the means for achieving economic goals but as a value on its own. The fight against poverty and social exclusion should be therefore a key component of the Union’s activities in the social field and Union’s objectives.

A high level of employment with full employment as a target has been proclaimed as an objective of the Union already in the conclusion of the Lisbon summit. Quality and meaningful work should be an essential additional component of the employment objective.

Solidarity between generations is an essential part of the European social model.In the situation where demographicdevelopment forces many Europeancountries to pay increasing attentionto elderlycitizens and to the needs of families, inter-generation relationsas well as social rights of both elderly people and the younger generation should not be left aside.The protection of vulnerable groups as e.g. elderly, who depend on social support and young families should be pointed out in particular.

The core element of the European social tradition is the imperative to help those who are unable to help themselves. Giving a positive answer to the challenge of social exclusion is a significant part of the European tradition. In the light of that the access to services of general interest (health care, social services, education, etc.) must be guaranteed for all citizens of the Union.

The importance of the European social model and of the social dimension for the future of European integration must be stressed. The principles of justice and solidarity do not only serve as values of the Union but they have to be realised through a specific chapter on social policy in the Constitutional Treaty. As the creation of the Union with a strong social dimension is among the goals and objectives, social policies should be given the same status in the constitutional text as economic and monetary policy. Therefore we propose to add a chapter on social policy as point A2 bis into the current draft instead of having it as a sub-heading II. in the chapter A3 ‘Policies in other specific areas’.

Social values and objectives have to become reality by implementation in the framework of the EU policy. The aim of any competence of the EU in this field is not harmonisation of the social agenda in the member states but co-ordination. Differences in social systems within the Union should not create an obstacle for the mobility of citizens. The constitutional text should guarantee the social rights for all citizens, without discrimination, including ethnic minorities.Social rights need to be guaranteed also for third country nationals.

A chapter on EU social policies should fully respect the legally binding character of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (as it is proposed unanimously by several Convention working groups). Therefore the EU, when exercising its competencies in the field of social polices, has to realise and give full effect to the social rights guaranteed in the Charter, e.g. article 34 - Right to social security and social assistance, article 35 – Access to health care, article 36 – Access to social services.

A new chapter on social policy would take up the current provisions on employment and social policy and social cohesion. Thereby it has to be assured that the co-ordination competencies of the Union in the area of employment and social policy in future do not limit themselves to regulating working relationships in the industrial field but apply also to employment in the service sector and in the financial markets. They should furthermore provide protection for people out of employment and for third-country nationals.

Additionally, a chapter on social policy has to make reference to the tension between the target of full employment on the one hand and the particular relevance of volunteer work on the other. Volunteer activities have to be seen not only in the framework of economic activities, but also as a proof of citizen’s participation in the realisation of the Union’s social dimension. For implementation of participatory aspects of democracy, a chapter on social policy should provide a framework for social dialogue, as it is considered an important instrument to fulfil the social objectives of the Union. In this sense, the dialogue structures need to be broadened beyond the social partners to reach out to other organisations of civil society.

A chapter on social policy should also cover the particular feature of social services and their vital importance for society. Such services are widely provided by specialised non-profit organisations. Proper functioning of NGOs providing services of general interest requires clear rules on financial aid and their relationship with the competition rules of the internal market. Non-profit organisations established for the common good, which invest their surplus entirely in developing social services, ought not to be treated according to laws designed for economic regulation.

5.European Union competences and the social dimension

The social dimension of the Union needs to be recognised as having implications for all activities of the Union, as stated in the chapter on the objectives of the Union. We believe that this fact needs to be additionally anchored in a general chapter on Union competence and action (Preliminary draft, Part One, Title III).

In such a chapter a clause should be included, which points out that the European Union for all its activities and in relation to all its competences shall take due account of the social dimension of European integration as expressed in the framework of objectives of the Union. Especially the Union should contribute to the realisation of a high level of employment, to the elimination of poverty and social exclusion, to the realisation of social protection and social security and trigger solidarity within the European Union and with third states.

Such a “social dimension”-clause is essential as it provides the necessary precondition for an equal balance in the implementation of economic and social policy in the European Union. If the social dimension is explicitly mentioned as a factor which has to be taken into consideration by the Union when exercising its competences, the Union will become directly accountable on the social policy aspects of legislation, also through legal enforcement mechanisms at the European level. This could be an important step towards a more efficient realisation of the social objectives of the Union and its social dimension.

In addition, coherence and co-ordination between economic and social policies should also become subject to a regular monitoring and up-date process.