European Pillar of Social Rights

Key points

The EESC:

• welcomes the Commission's initiative of launching a public consultation on a European Pillar of Social Rights while emphasising full respect of the division of competences and the principle of subsidiarity;
• calls for greater clarity regarding the scope and content of the Pillar and stresses that civil society and the social partners should be properly involved in the discussions concerning the Pillar;
• finds that social rights should apply to all Member States, while recognising that specific instruments/mechanisms may be necessary for the euro area;
• stresses the interdependence between economic and social policies and acknowledges that the European economic and social model is based on the shared understanding of the importance of increasing employment, social progress and productivity;
• considers that the Pillar should promote the existing EU social acquis and its full and proper enforcement, and finds that the European Semester and the National Reform Programs - which also concern non-euro area countries - should become the principle vehicles for its the implementation and monitoring. The Committee also refers to developing/designing benchmarks;

• is convinced that the future of work should be a key priority within the debates about the social pillar;

• emphasises the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining, as well as that of civil dialogue;
• reiterates the view that sustainable, effective and efficient social welfare systems are of the utmost importance for all societies in the EU;
• believes that a serious debate on a well-founded architecture of the EMU, implying a consensus on economic and social objectives, as well as agreed governance, is unavoidable.

More information

European Pillar of Social Rights: EESC Members to lead debates across Europe