Five years after the proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights at the Gothenburg Summit in 2017, the Commission has put forward more than 130 initiatives to implement the Pillar and deliver a social Europe that is fair, inclusive and full of opportunities.

After a strong socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pillar’s principles remain highly relevant in the current context, where many households are struggling to make ends meet, faced with a cost-of-living crisis exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Today, the EU marks the 5th anniversary of the Pillar at the first European Employment & Social Rights Forum, taking stock of progress made, as well as looking ahead to what comes next.

Delivering on the European Pillar of Social Rights

Building on the actions by former Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the current Commission of President Ursula von der Leyen continues to turn the Pillar principles into concrete outcome for people, including by putting forward the  European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan on 4 March 2021. It lists more than 100 measures, most of which (around 90%) have already either been adopted or launched.

Examples of initiatives taken to implement the Pillar – structured around its three main chapters on the labour market, working conditions and social inclusion – are:

Equal opportunities and access to the labour market

• The Pact for Skills is a unique platform of cooperation that brings together public and private organisations like businesses, training providers and chambers of commerce, committing to concrete training offers for workers across Europe. It has 1,000 members now, and it has already gathered pledges to help train 6 million people. The Pact is a central element of the European Skills Agenda. The Commission has also proposed to make 2023 the European Year of Skills, giving a fresh impetus for investment in skills across the EU.
• The Commission addresses existing inequalities in the European Gender Equality Strategy and several other initiatives, including tackling women's underrepresentation in the labour market and the gender pay gap with the proposal on pay transparency and the new Directive on work-life balance for working parents. Furthermore, the Commission put forward an Anti-Racism Action Plan 2020-2025, an LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, and an EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation.
•  The Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 and the European Accessibility Act contribute to ensuring that persons with disabilities enjoy social inclusion and economic autonomy through employment, for example with the Disability Employment Package.
• To boost youth employment, the Commission presented a Youth Employment Support package in July 2020. This included an update of the Youth Guarantee, a Recommendation to make vocational education and training more modern, attractive, and flexible, and a renewed impetus for apprenticeships.

Fair working conditions

• The Directive for adequate minimum wages in the EU aims to ensure that work pays. The Directive creates a framework to improve the adequacy of minimum wages in countries with statutory minimum wages. It also aims to promote collective bargaining as well as better enforcement and monitoring in all Member States. 
• The Commission proposal for a directive to improve the working conditions in platform work will ensure that people working through digital labour platforms can enjoy the labour rights and social benefits they are entitled to. It will also support the sustainable growth of these platforms in the EU.
• The overarching Occupational Safety and Health Framework Directive lays out the main principles of workers' safety and health at work. For instance, to effectively reduce exposure to asbestos, which can cause cancer, the Commission proposed in September 2022 to revise the Asbestos at Work Directive and introduce an even stricter occupational exposure limit to asbestos. 

Social protection and inclusion

• The proposal for a Council Recommendation on adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion calls on Member States to modernise their minimum income schemes to make them more effective, lifting people out of poverty, while promoting the labour market integration of those who can work.
• The European Care Strategy seeks to ensure quality, affordable and accessible care services across the European Union and improve the situation for both care receivers and the people caring for them, professionally or informally. It includes proposals for Council Recommendations on the revision of the Barcelona targets on early childhood education and care, and on access to affordable high-quality long-term care.
• Member States adopted the Commission’s proposal for a European Child Guarantee. It aims to give children free and effective access to key services and promote equal opportunities for children at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

Background

The European Parliament, Council and the Commission proclaimed the European Pillar of Social Rights at the Social Summit in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 17 November 2017. The Pillar sets out 20 guiding rights and principles for a strong social Europe in the 21st century that is fair, inclusive and full of opportunities.

EU funding to support actions of the European Pillar of Social rights is most notably available under the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), which finance projects that promote social inclusion, fight poverty and invest in people. In addition, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the European Regional Development Fund, InvestEU, and other EU funds support actions under the Pillar.

The European Employment Social Rights Forum is the annual flagship event of the Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. It takes place for the first time this year, providing an opportunity to mark the 5th anniversary of the European Pillar of Social Rights. It will be a unique meeting point for opinion and decision makers to discuss current issues around European employment and social affairs.