The Commission published the new EPSR Action plan – and both its ambition and timing are questionable
On 22 July, the European Commission published the new Action Plan on the Implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, accompanied by a review of the 2021 European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. The new Plan revolves around three priorities: addressing affordability, reducing inequalities, and harnessing AI for the future of work.
The publication of the new Action Plan on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights is long overdue. Expected by the end of 2025, it has been published more than seven months later, at an inopportune moment, when many stakeholders are preparing for the summer holidays and public attention is lower. This timing is out of step with the Commission’s own statement that “we must give greater visibility to social rights and reinforce the assessment of social standards and upward social convergence, at a time when our Union is facing major challenges”. If social rights are to be given greater visibility, such an important policy initiative should receive the political attention it deserves.
The delay has also raised expectations. As the objectives of the new Action Plan are ambitious, stakeholders were expecting a strong roadmap to complement the 2021 Action Plan and further advance the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights in a context of multiple social and economic challenges. As a result, the Plan offers few positive surprises and limited new momentum.
More concerning is the absence of several initiatives that were widely expected. It is particularly surprising that the Action Plan does not include initiatives on the right to disconnect and on algorithmic management in the workplace, despite identifying AI and the future of work as one of its priority areas. As digitalisation and artificial intelligence continue to reshape working conditions, these issues deserve a more prominent place ion the Commission’s social agenda.
The same applies to other missing legislative initiatives. Several of the proposed actions focus on improving monitoring, strengthening data collection and providing guidance, but there are very few new legislative proposals. Notably absent are a directive on a just transition at work and a directive on adequate minimum income schemes. While better monitoring and coordination are important, they cannot replace concrete legislative action, especially considering that the review of the Action Plan confirms that the EU has still a long way to go to meet its social targets, notably the one related to poverty eradication.
Another point of attention is the reference to social funding. While the Action Plan recognises the utmost importance of ESF+ in ensuring the implementation of the EPSR, it also refers to the next budget and the National Regional and Partnership Plans architecture contained in the Commission’s proposal. It is essential that the negotiations arpound the MFF go in the direction of re-establishing a budget line for ESF and introducing ringfencing for social inclusion objectives – both elements that are critically missing from the Commission’s proposal.
To conclude, SOLIDAR welcomes the long-awaited Action Plan and the claims that the Commission intends to keep advancing Social Europe, giving more strength to the EPSR. However, the proposed initiatives do not match the announced ambitions. SOLIDAR will produce a more thorough analysis of the Plan in the coming weeks and keep calling for an ambitious implementation of the EPSR, the only way towards a prosperous and fair Europe.
