The rising cost of living is one of the main concerns of people in Europe. According to the Eurobarometer of Autumn 2022 on the key challenges of our times, more than four in ten (42%) see rising prices and the cost of living as the most important issue facing the EU at the moment. Inflationary pressures, demographic challenges and the acceleration of the green and digital transitions have brought the issue of access to essential services at the forefront of the EU policy agenda. Bringing together in a systematised way the available evidence on the structural challenges influencing access to essential services in the EU, this report contributes to better understanding the impact of the current cost of living crisis and underlines the need to ensure that the twin green and digital transitions are fair and inclusive. Its findings will inform future actions at EU level.

Essential services fulfil basic human needs and are key to well-being and social inclusion, especially for disadvantaged groups. Principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights states that everyone has the right to access essential services of good quality, including water, sanitation,
energy, transport, financial services and digital communications. It stresses that support for access to these services should be available to those in need. Essential services also support access to a wider set of enabling goods and services – among others early childhood education and care, education and training, healthcare, long-term care and social inclusion services – that are key to actively participating in society and in the labour market, in line with principle 14 of the pillar.