European Pillar of Social Rights

For as long as the EU has existed, emphasis has been placed on economic considerations. As successive treaties were signed, European integration continued to increase, but largely in the fields of economic and market-driven policy. Although complementary to the economic dimension, the social dimension at EU level has not experienced the same degree of development, and the EU has struggled to invest consistently in it.^[2]

Several reasons have been identified for the limited progress of social integration in the EU, including the reluctance of Member States to transfer sovereignty in this field. Some states fear a deterioration of their existing social norms, while others with less developed social models are concerned about losing competitiveness.^[3] In addition, the principle of subsidiarity, as set out in the Treaty of Maastricht (1992), limits EU intervention: "In areas in which the European Union does not have exclusive competence, the principle of subsidiarity … defines the circumstances in which it is preferable for action to be taken by the Union, rather than the Member States."^[4] Despite awareness of this constitutional asymmetry, mechanisms introduced to strengthen the social dimension at EU level have had limited effect, and the social dimension has remained subordinate to European economic freedoms.^[5]

To circumvent the EU's inability to adopt coercive, comprehensive social legislation, emphasis was instead placed on coordination and convergence mechanisms such as the Open Method of Coordination (OMC), which has shaped EU social policy since 1990. However, given the scale of current global challenges, this approach has been criticised as insufficient, since soft law and coordinated national policies are always overridden by the primacy of European Union law.^[5]

Following the 2008 financial crisis, calls grew for greater attention to social policy, as the crisis had shifted EU focus towards economic and budgetary concerns at the expense of the social dimension. The EPSR was mentioned for the first time in a 2015 speech by Jean-Claude Juncker to the European Parliament and the Council. A first draft was produced in 2016, leading to the proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights in November 2017.^[6]

The EPSR comprises a preamble and three chapters, setting out target values across 20 areas:

Chapter I

Equal opportunities and access to the labour market

General education, professional training and lifelong learning, gender equality, equal opportunities, and active support for employment.

Chapter II

Fair working conditions

Secure and adaptable employment, wages, information about employment conditions and protection in the event of dismissal, social dialogue and worker involvement, work–life balance, and healthy, safe and well-adapted working environments and data protection.

Chapter III

Social protection and inclusion

Childcare and support for children, social protection, unemployment benefits, minimum income, old-age income and pensions, healthcare, inclusion of people with disabilities, long-term care, housing and assistance for the homeless, and access to essential services.

The EPSR is intended to serve as a reference document, against which labour market and social standards in Member States may converge over the long term.^[7]

Action Plan

The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan^[8] translates the 20 principles set out in the three chapters into concrete actions, and establishes targets for the EU to reach by 2030. According to the Commission, 80 per cent of the European population considers European social rights very important for their future. The targets include:

• at least 78 per cent of the population aged 20 to 64 in employment by 2030;
• at least 60 per cent of all adults participating in training every year by 2030;
• a reduction of at least 15 million in the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

In March 2018, the Commission proposed the establishment of a European Labour Authority as a specific measure to implement the EPSR and to enable self-employed workers to access social security.^[7]

In 2021, the Porto Social Summit was organised by the Portuguese Council Presidency. Commitments to implement the EPSR effectively at both national and European level had been included in the EU Strategic Agenda for 2019–2024.^[9] At the summit, the Porto Declaration was presented and adopted, assessing the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis for European social rights and proposing possible solutions.^[10][11]

Summarize Top Qs Fact Check

Whether, and in what form, the EPSR will be implemented in practice remains uncertain. Although generally welcomed, the initiative has attracted considerable criticism. Member States fear a shift of competences towards the EU and the Commission, and have insisted on compliance with the principle of subsidiarity.

Several Member States have shown reluctance owing to perceived EU intrusion into national welfare systems. Advocates of full national sovereignty over social policy have emphasised the need to preserve national labour laws and social models.^[2] Some fear the potential damage that the EU internal market could cause to national social systems; the combination of the direct effect and supremacy of EU law with the constitutionalisation of economic freedoms has been seen as a possible threat, as illustrated by the Viking and Laval case, in which the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in favour of economic freedoms over the right to collective action.

Member States are under no obligation to implement the EPSR.^[8] Several governments are concerned that it will place an additional burden on national budgets, for example through higher social benefits. Trade unions have argued that the initiative does not go far enough,^[12][7][8] while employer associations have argued that it would make the EU less competitive.^[12]

As the EPSR does not form part of EU fundamental legislation, its 20 principles are not directly applicable to EU citizens. With the exception of certain aspects already found in the Treaties, such as gender equality and anti-discrimination, neither Member States nor EU institutions are compelled to implement it. The Commission has nonetheless used the EPSR as a reference in various social policy initiatives, though it remains unclear whether this will help realise the social objectives enshrined in the Treaties, such as the reference to social progress in Article 3(3) TEU. The Council has rejected a number of related proposals, including a harmonised definition of "employee", "employment relationship" and "employment contract", and a proposed regulation on work–life balance. It has been suggested that the EPSR could nonetheless influence future rulings of the European Court of Justice, helping to redress the imbalance between economic and social integration.^[13]

Over the past two decades, the fundamental social rights set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union have been of limited help in extending the EU's social dimension, and have not prevented the erosion of social rights under austerity-driven management of the euro crisis. The EPSR can therefore be regarded as a soft instrument of EU governance: although managed and monitored by the Commission, its potential is significant only within the framework of well-developed policy coordination between Member States, and remains contingent on the Council's approval of Commission proposals. The extensive integration of the EPSR into the Commission's policy-coordination framework has itself been viewed with scepticism by Member States. Critics argue that the EPSR is not an adequate tool for overcoming the dominance of budgetary and competition priorities over social ones; it is most frequently invoked in the areas of education, anti-discrimination and active labour market policy.^[2]

Following the publication of a legal package on the EPSR, three key gaps have been identified. First, the regulation does not address the position of migrant workers, and no updated provisions on their social rights are included. Second, there is limited interaction between the EPSR and international law, including relevant conventions of the United Nations and the International Labour Organization, and the European Social Charter. Third, the EPSR does not address the role of social partners or collective bargaining.

Regarding implementation and adaptation at national level, the Commission assesses Member States' capacity to adopt relevant legislation, alongside their activities at European level. However, at EU level the Commission has only soft-law instruments with which to encourage adoption, and Member States remain the key actors in ensuring compliance and enacting the Pillar's rights and principles. Without their support, the influence of the EPSR would remain limited, and the broader impact of this new wave of social rights correspondingly uncertain.^[5]

• Social policy of the European Union
• European Social Charter
• European Labour Authority