EPSCO COUNCIL : PENSIONS: PRESIDENCY SCRAPS IDEA OF WELL-BEING THRESHOLD'.

• Position: Employment and Social Policy Council

Despite the efforts of the Belgian EU Presidency, member states strongly opposed the introduction of the notion of a threshold of well-being' at EU level. In fact, a large majority of the 27 ministers responded negatively to the proposal of Belgian Pensions Minister Michel Daerden, drawing on the subsidiarity principle. This issue was raised in the context of the debate on pensions, during the Employment and Social Policy (EPSCO) Council, on 6 December 2010.

At the start of its mandate almost six months ago, the Belgian Presidency had made known that it intended to propose, both at national and EU level, a "concept for striving towards a well-being target". The latter was, at that time, estimated by the Belgian minister to be 1,500 (ie approximately 2,000 gross), a figure which he considered could be achieved via the generalisation of the second pillar of pensions.

During a round table discussion on this subject, on 6 December, the delegations strongly opposed such an idea. The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Portugal, Sweden and Denmark highlighted the differences between the national systems. When questioned about these reactions, Daerden told Europolitics Social that "my dream is not to leave anyone on the edge. But I feel that this is not a simple task and this subsidiarity principle does not prevent me from having a dream and achieving it".

In the absence of a clear, quantified objective, employment and social affairs ministers invited the member states to strive for the well-being of the elderly in all areas of life. In their conclusions devoted to "adequate, sustainable and safe European pension systems," they also underline the difficulties in terms of the adequacy of pensions and suggest that this may be addressed, among other ways, "through support for the build-up of rights, increased participation in the labour market and efforts to broaden coverage, with...