In 2019, the EU set a new, ambitious course towards a fair and inclusive Europe that protects its citizens and creates opportunities. At the 2021 Porto Social Summit, EU leaders, institutions and social partners agreed to put social at the heart of our policies.
The European Commission set three ambitious EU-wide social targets to achieve by 2030, focusing on employment, training, and poverty reduction.
The following are some of the accomplishments the Commission achieved during its 2019–2024 mandate:
Helping people get quality jobs
Helping businesses find the workers they need
To address labour and skills shortages, the Commission introduced the Effective Active Support to Employment (EASE), helping Member States and employment services to ease job transitions for workers, and modernising vocational training to meet labour need. The Commission's EASE program aids job transitions and vocational training modernization. The Talent and Skills Mobility Package promotes talent attraction and mobility. The EU Talent Pool streamlines non-EU jobseeker recruitment.
Empowering workers with skills
EU funds are investing around €65 billion to help Member States train people and provide them with the right skills, especially for the digital and green transition.
The Commission supports lifelong learning through the Pact for Skills. Thanks to this iniviative 3.5 million individuals got training in 2022 and 2023.
The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers offers advisory services, job search assistance, and skills training to those who have lost employment due to restructuring. In 2021 and 2022 alone, the EU allocated €51.8 million from the fund to help over 13,000 dismissed workers and self-employed people from 9 Member States retrain and find a new job.
Quality jobs and traineeships for young people
The EU is actively supporting Member States with funding and policy guidance to help young people to get the training they need to get a good job and thrive in life. The Commission has proposed a package of initiatives to improve working conditions for trainees, as well as the quality of and access to traineeships in the EU.
Closing the gender gap
In the EU, women earn 13% less than men for the same job. EU legislation is helping to close the pay gap by increasing pay transparency. New EU rules will also improve gender balance in corporate decision-making positions, requiring that women hold at least 40% of non-executive director posts, or 33% of all director posts in big publicly listed companies.
By funding early child care projects, the EU is also helping women return to the labour market.
Fair working conditions
Adequate minimum wages
The EU introduced a Directive on adequate minimum wages, in 2022, establishing a common framework to combat in-work poverty and promote collective bargaining. Member States are already taking cues from the Directive, implementing measures to address this pressing issue.
Improving working conditions for platform workers
Out of 28 million people working on digital labour platforms, 5.5 million may be wrongly classified as self-employed. A Directive on improving the working conditions of people working through platforms will soon become law. The EU Directive aims to:
- clarify the employment status of workers on digital platforms
- increase transparency in the use of algorithms
- ensure human monitoring of automated decisions
- grant the right to contest automated decisions and rectify them where needed
Ensuring a safe workplace
In 2021, the Commission adopted the EU Strategic Framework on health and safety at work. New rules have also been adopted to reduce the exposure of workers to hazardous substances like asbestos, lead and diisocyanates.
Strengthening social dialogue
The Commission presented an initiative to boost the involvement of social partners in EU policymaking, and calling on Member States to increase their capacity.
The Commission also proposed a Directive to strengthen European Works Councils, information and consultation bodies that ensure that employees are involved in decisions related to transnational issues and which affect them directly.
The EU and social partners convened a summit at Val Duchesse to renew the joint commitment to European social dialogue.
Boosting the Social Economy
The EU launched an Action Plan and guidelines to Member States to help the social economy grow and thrive, gain access to funding, and raise awareness of its potential.
A new EU Social Economy Gateway is a clear entry point for anyone seeking information on relevant EU funding, policies and initiatives.
Social Europe protects everyone including people without a job
Fighting poverty and exclusion
At the Porto Social Summit in 2021, EU leaders committed to reducing the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million by 2030, including 5 million children, compared to 2019 levels. Each Member State has set its own target to contribute to this EU ambition.
The EU has allocated over €30 billion from the European Social Fund Plus to help countries, regions and cities to overcome poverty and social exclusion. This includes more than €6 billion for supporting children in poverty.
Lifting up children at risk of poverty
Around 20 million children in the EU face poverty or social exclusion. The European Child Guarantee aims to break the cycle of disadvantage, ensuring that children from poorer households have access to key services and do not face social exclusion as adults
Tackling homelessness
The Commission launched the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness. The Platform facilitates the exchange of best practice among authorities from across the EU, as well as gathering data.
The European Social Fund Plus finances projects to tackle homelessness and support affordable housing.
Prioritising long-term care
The EU has issued new guidance to make long-term care more widely available, accessible and of better quality. This includes ways to improve working conditions and attract more people to the care sector and complement national funding.
Promoting equality for persons with disabilities
The EU’s Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 aims to enable persons with disabilities to live independently, learn in inclusive environments, and work quality jobs. New EU rules will introduce a European Disability Card and a European Parking Card for persons with disabilities to facilitate access to special conditions, preferential treatment, and parking rights when visiting other Member States.
Improving minimum income schemes
The EU has agreed on new guidelines to modernise minimum income schemes, making them more effective, lifting people out of poverty, while helping those who are able to work back into a quality job. It can also support Member States financially in their investments and reforms related to minimum income schemes.
Social Europe protects people during crises
Supporting workers during the pandemic
To support workers and employers during the COVID-19 crisis, the Commission launched the EU-wide scheme SURE (Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency). It helped Member States ensure businesses stayed afloat and retained their staff, in turn helping workers keep their livelihoods. In 2020, SURE supported some 31.5 million employees and self-employed people and over 2.5 million businesses.
Supporting people fleeing Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine
Since February 2022, the Commission has provided guidance to Member States on helping people who fled Ukraine integrate into EU life. More than €1.5 billion from cohesion funds have been used for the essential support of those fleeing the war such as healthcare, accommodation, training, and education.
