By the EESC Workers’ Group

The cost of living is a main concern for EU citizens, impacting their quality of life and economic well-being. Factors such as housing prices, energy and food costs, and inflation, can strain household budgets, particularly for low- and middle-income individuals and families. To address this, the EESC adopted a package of seven sector-specific opinions, culminating in a comprehensive umbrella opinion. Together, these opinions underscore the EESC’s belief that the challenges and uncertainties the EU faces demand not incremental adjustments but a deeper structural and strategic shift in Europe’s economic model.

The goal is to provide clear, actionable guidance and recommendations for EU institutions, national governments, social partners and civil society. Key priorities were:

1. The importance of social dialogue and collective bargaining: supporting the role of trade unions and collective bargaining in negotiating fair wages and working conditions;
2. EU action to address the causes of cost-of-living increases (i.e. global factors, corporate profiteering, inadequate social protection, tax policies favouring the wealthy): strengthening social safety nets to support workers during periods of economic hardship or unemployment;
3. Calling for clear EU guidance, better reporting and quality jobs with strong worker protection, ensuring that wages keep pace with inflation and the rising cost of living, allowing workers to maintain their purchasing power. The EU must lead by example in ensuring that all jobs are good jobs, and that no worker is left behind;
4. Actions to address dysfunctions in the Single Market that drive up prices: stronger enforcement of EU law, completion of the Capital Markets Union, better labour mobility, improved infrastructure and access to healthcare. Housing market rules should also be assessed for their impact on affordability;
5. Underscoring the importance of services of general interest in easing crisis impacts, calling for greater public investment in social infrastructure, housing and transport: promoting policies that make housing more affordable and accessible, particularly for low- and middle-income workers;
6. Energy poverty: has become a critical dimension of the cost-of-living crisis across Europe. With energy and transportation costs rising sharply in recent years — due to global market volatility, the green transition and geopolitical tensions — the burden falls heaviest on low- and middle-income workers, who already face stagnant wages and limited financial margins;
7. Avoiding returning to austerity and more focused European Central Bank (ECB) policies: this means the ECB should not only focus narrowly on inflation and austerity policies but consider the broader impact of its decisions on jobs, public investment and everyday living costs – especially for the most vulnerable.