As the voice of organised civil society, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) plays a crucial role in shaping policies that impact social and economic aspects within the European Union. The EESC’s Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship (SOC) is preparing two key opinions: one will tackle the fight against poverty head-on, while the other looks at revising the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) Action Plan.

Both these opinions (New Action Plan on the implementation of the EPSR and EU Anti-poverty Strategy) address vital issues related to labour and social rights and EU social inclusion strategies. They come at a crucial time for Europe: according to the latest Eurostat figures, in 2024, approximately 93.3 million people in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, which equates to 21.0% of the EU population. On top of this, social rights are currently undergoing an unprecedented amount of pressure from various sources. 2025 is very much a pivotal year for the EU, with the preparation of the first-ever EU Anti-Poverty Strategy and the announcement of the new European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. With this context in mind, the EESC recently held a public hearing as part of preparations for these two related opinions, which are scheduled for adoption this summer.

A new EU Action Plan to further support labour and social rights

Proclaimed in 2017, the EPSR acts as the cornerstone of the EU’s commitment to building fair and inclusive societies: it aims to ensure that labour and social rights are upheld across the EU, focusing on 20 key principles that cover various aspects of labour, social and economic life. The current EPSR’s Action Plan was adopted in March 2021, with the aim of addressing remaining gaps and proposing policy recommendations to enhance the Pillar’s implementation alongside 3 headline targets.

The 2021 Action Plan set out concrete initiatives to turn the Pillar’s principles into reality, proposing headline targets for the EU by 2030, including:

• Employment: Achieving an employment rate of at least 78% for the population aged 20-64
• Skills: Ensuring that at least 60% of adults participate in training every year
• Poverty Reduction: Reducing the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million (including 5 million children)

The EESC has been actively involved in evaluating the progress and challenges of the EPSR implementation. Its opinion on the new Action Plan aims to support further development of a forward-looking socially inclusive and robust Europe. The EESC will identify the gaps that remain in the Pillar’s implementation and propose policy recommendations and initiatives with a view to increasing upward social convergence. These proposals will aim to make the new Action Plan more effective and promote fairer living and working conditions across Europe in key areas such as strengthening employment standards, enhancing social safety nets, supporting vulnerable groups (older workers, persons with disabilities…) and promoting lifelong learning.

Speaking at the public hearing, rapporteur for this opinion Sophie Reisecker stressed that: «Many stakeholders obviously see a need to develop the European Pillar of Social Rights further. For instance, they propose a European initiative to address psychosocial risks at the workplace. We also need more active labour market policies in the Member States as well as boosting social investments.»

Tackling EU-wide poverty

The political guidelines for the European Commission 2024-2029 announced the first ever EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, and the EESC’s opinion on the Strategy aims to directly contribute to the plan by providing the Committee’s unique, civil-society perspective. It aims to address the root causes of poverty and proposes comprehensive measures that are aligned with the EPSR (and other EU policies), to create a more inclusive and equitable society.

Though the primary responsibility for addressing poverty rests with Member States (with some having already adopted national anti-poverty strategies), organised civil society can design and implement strategies and instruments to combat poverty. The new Strategy will support these efforts and further encourage social partners and other interest groups, to adopt targeted policies and support measures. The Strategy will also aim to help people gain access to the essential services and social protection mechanisms they need while targeting the root causes of poverty.

The European Commission formally requested the EESC to provide this opinion (known as an «Exploratory Opinion») to provide advice and ideas via the following questions: «what initiatives could be taken by social partners and other interest groups to better adapt policy frameworks to combat poverty?» and «how can social partners and other interest groups effectively address the root causes of poverty to decisively decrease poverty levels and set them on a downward trend?».

With these questions in mind, the opinion being prepared explores a number of possible approaches, including promoting minimum income schemes, fostering adequacy of minimum wages, improving access to social services, supporting social enterprises and strengthening social protection systems, all of which were mentioned during the public hearing, with co-rapporteur Sophie Reisecker highlighting that: «one major tool to eradicate poverty is to fight in-work poverty. Policymakers and social partners can address wages and working conditions. But non-standard employment appears to be a major and growing risk that deserves more attention.»

EESC Member, Christa Schweng, chaired the panel on the Anti-Poverty Strategy, summarising the task of the EESC and the EU as follows: “We need a prosperous European economy, competitive in the world, and for sure employment to fight poverty. We need to tackle the individual and multifaceted root causes of poverty and we need to make sure that a European Strategy aims at enabling people experiencing poverty to take back control of their situation. Education plays an important role here.”

Next steps

These two opinions are closely related, since they both fall under the umbrella of the EPSR so they are both scheduled to be adopted this summer, normally during the June and July EESC plenary session. Ultimately, the successful implementation of the recommendations contained in these two opinions will require collaboration between EU institutions, Member States, and civil society organisations, with the end-goal being to enhance the overall quality of life for all EU citizens.