Honourable Members
I would like to thank this House for the Oral Question that you adopted in December on the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan.
It gives us an excellent opportunity to take stock of where we are so far in the mandate, and what is yet to come.
A large number of policies, measures, legislation and guidance have been agreed since the Pillar Action Plan was presented in March 2021.
So, the tools and the instruction manual are ready. But now we have to be vigilant in making sure that the fair, inclusive and resilient social Europe we want - and need – continues to be actually built.
The 2021 Action Plan shows results. Progress has been recorded. However, we need to do more, better and faster, in some areas. Therefore, the full implementation of the 2021 Action Plan remains imperative.
Some people might believe that the commitments made five years ago to strengthen labour rights and social protections in the EU are no longer a priority, with global developments and the associated more pressing matters on our doorstep.
I believe the opposite to be true. If we want to increase our resilience and our competitiveness, Europe needs to embrace even more tightly the values on which it was built – equality, fairness and opportunity.
Last year, the Commission carried out a review of the 2021 Action Plan, to understand what worked well, if there are gaps, and where future priorities should lie. We are currently analysing the results and finalising the review.
While the impacts on the ground of the Action Plan are unfolding, the feedback we received confirmed the importance and relevance of the Pillar.
Meanwhile, we have adopted a number of key initiatives. In December we adopted the Quality Jobs Roadmap. Every job in Europe must be a quality job. That is how we attract talent, reduce in-work poverty, and strengthen Europes competitiveness.
This includes ensuring that people furthest from the labour market are brought back in; helping address both social cohesion and labour shortages.
The Union of Skills we presented in March 2025 will help us turn the tide, so that people young and old are better trained and prepared for what lies ahead.
In December, we also launched the first phase consultation of social partners on a forthcoming Quality Jobs Act, which covers many of the areas you mention in your Oral Question.
Also this year we will adopt the first-ever EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, a Council recommendation on fighting housing exclusion, and a strengthened Child Guarantee. The Strategy will have a strong person-centered, life-cycle and preventive approach, also in view of increased cost-of-living pressures.
We will also present a Fair Labour Mobility Package, with a legislative proposal for a European Social Security Pass, a legislative proposal to strengthen the European Labour Authority, and a Skills Portability Initiative to remove barriers to worker mobility.
And when it comes to the funds, under the proposal for the next MFF, for the first time a system will be put in place to ensure the systematic and transparent monitoring of the contribution from the EU budget towards social objectives. This is a major step forward.
We will present the results of the review of the 2021 Action Plan in July. Future actions will be defined on the basis of a thorough analysis of implementation, but also, importantly, in view of gaps and new needs that have been identified. The new actions will complement and strengthen ongoing and planned initiatives, contributing to supporting the EUs competitiveness, resilience and preparedness.
Honourable Members, I count on your continued support, and I look forward to hearing your ideas during this debate on how to make these instruments as effective as possible.