"We would encourage you to be ambitious when it comes to addressing poverty and social exclusion," heather Roy, president of the Social Platform, said at a Vilnius conference on the forthcoming Lithuanian EU presidency.
Social inequality leading to social exclusion is on the rise in Europe, she noted. Marginalized people distance themselves from traditional processes, which leads to a rise in fundamentalism and extremist movements.
"We need to find ways in the EU to bring people to the more cohesive society. EU institutions are keys for doing that," Roy said.
The president of the Social Platform has also noted that inequality is widespread in the Lithuanian society, too.
"So we actually can use that as an opportunity to bring forward the question of inequalities on the European agenda because its one of the issues you are faced here in Lithuania," she said, adding that the EU's economic and social priorities need to be properly balanced.
Lithuania pledges to step up social inclusion of young people, especially those who do not work or study, improve protection of workers, including immigrants, as well as strengthen the social dimension.
"With every day, the importance of the social dimension and the social investment package is rising. We are aware that the social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union, in any case, has to be strengthened and linked to employment and social situation in Europe," Lithuanian Minister of Social Security and Labor Algimanta Pabedinskienė said, adding that Lithuania would try to ensure equal rights for men and women and non-discrimination.
"The Lithuanian presidency will concentrate on the priority of stepping up efficiency of institutions and mechanisms to faster achieve actual equality between men and women," she said.
The issue of integration of Roma people will also receive due attention, Pabedinskienė said. "We need to foresee ways to help the Roma community to integrate into the education, labor systems and, in general, the social, local life," she said.
The Social Platform is the alliance of representative European federations and networks of non-governmental organizations, uniting 37 full members and nine associate members.
