Delivery of essential services in conjunction with the European Pillar of Social Rights

The rights and principles forming the European Pillar of Social Rights fall into three areas, one of which is social protection and inclusion, which is to say everything touching upon living conditions in our society.

The 20th and final principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights deals with "access to essential services". It establishes the right to essential services of good quality and gives a non-comprehensive list of those services most important to people's daily lives. The Member States continue to be responsible for identifying, organising, providing and funding these services at national, regional or local level. However, it is not enough simply to state that essential services – including services across borders – must be universally available; the notion of essential services and how they can be delivered must be clarified.