The Future of Social Protection and of the Welfare State in the EU
“The welfare state is a fundamental aspect of Europe’s identity. The continuous adjustment of social protection policies to the emerging realities is of paramount importance for tackling inequalities and achieving growth. It is imperative that for the digital and green transitions, as well as reforms in energy and competition policy, to be successful, parallel reforms in EU members’ welfare states are needed”.
Former EU Commissioner for employment and social affairs, Chair of the High-level group of experts on the future of social protection and welfare state in the EU
The report produced by the HLG on the Future of Social Protection in the EU and of the Welfare State is part of the Action Plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. It is a roadmap, aiming to serve as an orienting policy tool for national governments and the European Commission. The ETUC with its Position aims at promoting the Recommendations of the Report on the future of welfare across the EU member states in the context of a European strategy that must be composite and people-centred, according to the European Pillar of Social Rights, especially vis-à-vis the challenges of managing transitions, fighting inequality, and generating sustainable growth.
The Report’s recommendations are thus relevant for Member States – but what are the opportunities and the challenges that Member States would face in implementing such recommendations and realising resilient, inclusive, effective welfare states?
WHAT: The ETUC “SociAll” project, is organising three events to discuss the policy proposals the HLG Report in the national contexts of Italy, France and Germany.
WHY: We will debate on how to satisfy the demand for social protection and how to tailor the national policies coherently with the EU landscape, currently characterised by transitional trends and the European economic governance review.
WHO: The events will gather together the high-level experts authors of the Report, high-level representatives from national trade unions, governments as well as the European Commission.
Trade unionists from all over Europe are invited to attend and feed the discussions. All events will be hybrid and participation will be possible both in person and online.
The Executive Summary and the Recommendations of the HLG Report are available in all languages here
First event of the national series:
Rome 18 January 2024 - hybrid
The High-Level Group on the Future of Social Protection and of the Welfare State in the EU published its final report in February 2023. The report represents a very positive step towards the concretization of the Action Plan for the Implementation of the EPSR. It provides a set of evidence-based Recommendations concerning a series of comprehensive public policy interventions – both at EU and national level – that allow both the fair social and the fiscal sustainability of enhanced welfare systems and facing the megatrends – i.e., demographic transition, changes in the world of work, digitalisation and technological change, climate change and the green transition.
The expert group proposes a holistic, life-cycle approach, based on public investment, which emerges not only as closely intertwined with the economic dimension, but also as conditional to the sustainability of the fabric of the EU social market economy facing the current challenges.
It emerges that it is crucial to enhance public policies that favour universal, solidarity-based and long-term solutions and prevent current and future socio-economic downturns.
The real game changer is public investment in enhanced universal welfare states and high quality public services, together with much higher public investment in education, care, training and lifelong learning, and income support.
Investing in reducing inequalities and socio-economic imbalances, focusing on increasing activity and productivity rates at work, creating quality jobs and designing solidarity-based public social protection systems will lead to fiscal sustainability.
Substantial public social investment in quality welfare with a life-cycle approach (starting early in people’s and workers’ lives) is found to be crucial to offset the effects of an ageing population, imbalances in welfare expenditure, inequalities and lack of social mobility and intergenerational solidarity – much more than simply raising the retirement age. The recommended approach would lead to a double dividend in the medium term, reducing public expenditure on income protection while enlarging the tax base to finance social protection.
Where do we stand on the EPSR?
The Belgian presidency, in 2024, will initiate a revision of the EPSR Action Plan. The ETUC looks forward the assessment of the AP achievement status and the revision of the principles, in particular those on social protection and inclusion – that make up half of the Pillar. The ETUC had already started such an exercise in 2022, with inputs to the Action Plan and the revision of some principles.
