On 6-7 September 2012 the EFN Secretary General is attending the “Jobs for Europe” Employment Policy conference in Brussels. The conference will, among other things, build on the Employment Package put forward by the Commission on 18 April in order to explore new dimensions of employment policy, notably regarding the functioning of European labour markets, wage developments, flexicurity in a crisis context, and inequalities. In a very powerful opening speech, the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, highlighted the real challenge: having the right conditions and perspective to work and live as well as giving opportunities to the coming generation. In addition to this, rather than focusing on statistics, he gave a human face to the issues at hand by describing what it means for the individual when there is no money coming in! The EFN would like to echo Martin Schulz’s approach by stressing the importance of having a strong social policy to respond to social emergencies and to spur a commitment for growth. In order to lift Europe out of stagnation we need a strong social dimension to EU policy; one which is based on the principle of solidarity and which incentivises the allocation of social cohesion funds. We must not review or dismantle our social model and we must not forget the importance of education policy and social dialogue in driving it forward!