Building a fair and green Europe together
Together, we can build a Europe that protects people and the planet – starting now.
After the 2024 European elections, we choose to see the glass half full: the democratic centre has held its ground. Having won this election, the conservative parties hold the key to this cooperation. But the progressive forces will be important partners and should make the most of their weight.
For the past year, SOLIDAR has campaigned for social justice though a socially just green transition. As election night passes, we launch a new phase of advocacy. The far right’s rise highlights the urgent need for bold social policies, addressing living costs, job security, and inequality without scapegoating.
SOLIDAR remains committed to social justice, democracy, climate action, and an economy that benefits all. Our role as a civil society movement is crucial.
Read our Manifesto in the other languages available: Italian, Spanish, German, French, and Croatian.
A socially just transition at the heart of all policies
A just transition is a holistic and proactive concept that should encompass all of society and all policies. A just transition guarantees that we all have a place in the green transition and that the most vulnerable, poor, and marginalized are not sacrificed in the process.
Vision
A just transition entails a shift towards a fairer and more sustainable society, mitigating the negative economic and social impacts of the green transition. By prioritising social justice, workers’ rights and the well-being of communities, a just transition will bring about a fair distribution of resources and opportunities, guaranteeing that all members of society, especially the most vulnerable, benefit from the green transition. It’s about building a sustainable and fair Europe for all.
Key asks
- The EU should ensure that the European Green Deal is followed by a European Green, Social and Global Deal that promotes an economy of sustainable prosperity for all and better aligns the goals of the green transition with the EPSR principles. It should adopt a holistic, coordinated and integrated approach to policy making, implementation and monitoring. Key measures include a Fair and Just Transition Law and a revision of the European Climate Law to set measurable objectives for a just transition and facilitate policy coherence, and an EU Directive for a just transition of the world of work to anticipate and manage closures and transformations in affected sectors in a just way.
- The EU should adopt a global approach to just transition in its relations with Global South countries to ensure policy coherence, and accelerate the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement objectives. It should increase incentives and grants for partner countries to pursue their own just transition processes. The European Green and Social Deal should also be a Global Deal and have a strong external dimension to guarantee a fair distribution of the costs and benefits of the transition between Europe and partner countries. The trade-offs between the EU’s internal and external priorities is a false dichotomy.
- The EU should mobilise massive investment for a just transition and develop a financing strategy that equitably redistributes the costs and benefits of the transition through both a territorial and a whole-of-society systemic approach. It should align existing financial instruments with just transition goals and principles, extend the Just Transition Mechanism beyond 2027 and increase the Just Transition Fund to cover more regions and sectors, and strengthen the Social Climate Fund by rebating 100% of ETS2 revenues.
- The EU should step up efforts to assess the distributional and wider socio-economic impacts of climate and environmental initiatives in Europe and beyond, conduct independent research to improve knowledge of the opportunities and challenges of the green transition and improve the use of data for policy making, including through the establishment of scientific panels and Just Transition Observatories.
- The EU should foster the development and implementation of national, regional and sectoral just transition strategies and plans, as well as territorial just transition agreements to revitalise affected areas in a just manner. It should ensure that MS adopt a comprehensive just transition approach in line with the Council Recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality.
End the growing inequalities breaking our social contract
We want a Europe that is defined by a wellbeing economy and a socioecological welfare state, guaranteeing a good life for all, and that uses its voice and place in global politics to reach this goal.
Vision
We need to promote a social economy based on solidarity and well-being that fights discrimination and eradicates poverty. This requires massive private and public investments, coupled with fair taxation, to strengthen the European social model and guarantee a good life for all. It also means taking into account the external impact of European policies on the rest of the world to promote global solidarity and wellbeing.
Key asks
- The EU should undertake an ambitious revision of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, with additional initiatives beyond 2025 to further ensure social justice and improve the Social Scoreboard to effectively monitor the implementation of the Pillar. The ‘revised’ Action Plan should pay particular attention to the socio-ecological dimension, fully incorporating just transition policies.
- The EU should further strengthen its social model put social justice and human development as a central goal of its external policies . This includes strengthening social protection systems, promote the ratification and implementation of the ILO standards and support universal social protection floors and systems , ensuring access to sustainable, universal and high quality essential services, providing affordable and decent housing for all, addressing the root causes of homelessness, adopting a comprehensive approach to education and recognising the importance of transversal skills.
- The EU should support the formulation of robust national strategies for the social economy, addressing the financial needs of social economy actors and promoting a shift towards environmentally and socially responsible production and consumption, including through public procurement and a fair trade policy.
- The EU should foster a well-being economy within planetary boundaries. It should establish a central fiscal capacity to support social and green investments, introduce golden rules for such investments in the economic governance framework, develop a harmonised taxonomy to define public investment and reform the Stability and Growth Pact. The European Semester process should ensure meaningful participation of civil society organisations, strengthen its social objectives including though a more ambitious social convergence framework and promote a green and fair tax reform at national level.
- The EU should ensure the proper implementation of the ‘polluter pays’ principle and adopt environmental and social conditionality for all public funds and investments, including European Investment Bank (EIB) lending, Global Gateway projects which should prioritise projects that meet public needs while respecting local communities. The EU should enforce transparent human rights due diligence and align its trade policy with existing, new and upcoming legislation on business and human rights (e. g. the regulation banning products made with forced labour). It should prioritise international labour, social and environmental standards over investment law and terminating the investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms in international investments agreements.
A rights and solidarity driven European response to migration
As millions sought refuge from Ukraine, Europe’s response showed its immense capacity and resilience. This powerful demonstration of welcoming and integrating people should spark a re-evaluation of migration policies and boost efforts towards a unified European approach to migration.
Vision
We need to promote a social economy based on solidarity and well-being that fights discrimination and eradicates poverty. This requires massive private and public investments, coupled with fair taxation, to strengthen the European social model and guarantee a good life for all. It also means taking into account the external impact of European policies on the rest of the world to promote global solidarity and wellbeing.
Key asks
- The EU should ensure that the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum does not only lead to lower legal safeguards and easier deportations. The implementation of the Pact and existing EU legislation should prioritise solidarity, through the European Parliament’s oversight of the effectiveness of the Solidarity Mechanism and encouragement of relocation, while monitoring fundamental rights at borders and promoting alternatives to detention. Member States must urgently improve reception conditions.
- The EU should ensure that all migration partnerships with third countries are mutually beneficial, respect human rights and strengthen migrants’ rights in and outside of the EU. Desist from existing agreements that fund authoritarian regimes for the purpose of preventing migrants from reaching EU territory (EU-Turkey, EU-Libya, EU-Tunisia, EU-Egypt among others).
- The EU should act to tackle the root causes of forced migration in partner countries, notably conflicts, poverty and climate change, abandon EU and national external policies that cause displacement, establish an EU search and rescue operation with mandate to save lives at the external borders, and introduce a binding humanitarian exemption to fight criminalisation of solidarity with migrants.The European external action budget shall not be used for borders’ management nor to curtail migration.
- The EU should promote the adoption and expansion of regular, structural avenues for migration for all purposes, leading to quality permits. This can be done by increasing the number of refugees admitted under existing resettlement schemes as well as by promoting the use and enhancement of humanitarian admission, humanitarian visas, complementary labour pathways, subsidiary protection, temporary protection, family reunification, economic admissions at all skills levels, including for job seeking and student mobility; as well as by providing coordinated, long-term solutions for people displaced by the war in Ukraine, with a smooth transition from temporary protection status.
- The EU should monitor the implementation of the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion, highlighting good practices, and consult civil society, including migrant and refugee-led organisations, in the mid-term review of the Action Plan. Increase the funding allocated to the next cycle of the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund, in particular the earmark for inclusion.
A digital revolution that guarantees freedom and equality
As millions sought refuge from Ukraine, Europe’s response showed its immense capacity and resilience. This powerful demonstration of welcoming and integrating people should spark a re-evaluation of migration policies and boost efforts towards a unified European approach to migration.
Vision
We call for a new perspective on the digital realm, recognising it as a public good. We call on the EU to lead global efforts to promote human, social and economic rights in the digital age. Digital transformation must prioritise people and planet, strengthen societies and democracies, and tackle inequality.
Key asks
- The EU should ensure high quality, accessible and inclusive digital education and training for all. In order for learners to fully and effectively participate in a digitised society, critical thinking and media literacy are essential. In this regard, more efforts must be made to close the digital divide and increase basic digital skills among European citizens.
- The EU should prevent any form of surveillance, be it in the workplace, the borders or the public space, which is applied in a way that reduces social and fundamental rights and perpetrates discrimination.
- The EU should ensure that the increasing digitalisation of the world of work, including through the introduction of AI, improves working conditions and the work-life balance – eliminating unsafe and alienating tasks and reducing the working time – and makes the work environment more inclusive and democratic. The EU should make sure that the digitalisation of the provision of essential services including social services is anchored in a rights-based framework and that it improves the accessibility, adequacy, quality and take-up of such services.
- The EU should adopt a multifaceted approach to combating fake news and hate speech in the digital sphere, focusing on digital literacy education, public awareness campaigns, fact-checking initiatives, regulatory reforms, and the promotion of digital citizenship to foster a safer and more inclusive online environment.
- Digitalisation should never be used to maximise productivity for the gains of private companies exclusively without improving living and working conditions and benefitting society as a whole. Ensure fair competition in the digital sector, contrasting the domain of Big Techs. Foster more inclusive and people-centered digital solutions also through the support to social economy actors in the digital realm.
Education for all and with all
Education and lifelong learning are the bedrock of democracy. But today it is failing to deliver on these promises. Ensuring access to quality education for all is not only a matter of justice but also an investment in a brighter future for Europe.
Vision
Now more than ever, inclusive education and lifelong learning are fundamental to ensuring equal opportunities in life for all. It equips people with the necessary tools and resources to lift themselves out of all forms of poverty and to face today’s challenges related to the climate and environmental emergency, the digital revolution, growing inequalities, and increasing geopolitical tensions.
Key asks
- The EU should allocate adequate resources for formal, non-formal, and informal learning. Sustainable and public funding is essential for the provision of inclusive and accessible formal, non-formal and informal education which includes GCE.
- The EU should strengthen Global Citizenship Education (GCE), and fully recognise lifelong learning as crucial to democratic and inclusive societies as they empower individuals to grow personally and professionally, while actively participating in society.
- The EU should make GCE accessible to all. Strong political support is necessary because, currently, Global Citizenship Education (GCE) is not given priority by decision makers. While there is some progress, such as the recognition of citizenship competency by the Council of the European Union, the integration of GCE into curricula is still limited and often treated as a subtopic within other subjects.
- The EU should promote the recognition and validation of competences obtained in non-formal and informal learning settings.
Protect civic space and guarantee civil dialogue
SOLIDAR members empower citizens both locally and nationally. Their vital role in promoting social inclusion and cohesion, an integral part of our democratic fabric, should be recognised through their participation in policy-making processes.
Vision
The EU’s growing interest in citizen participation offers a chance to enhance civil society’s role in policymaking. This should include implementing civil and social dialogue and supporting citizenship education. It’s vital for addressing the EU’s democratic deficit and ensuring citizens can influence all policies through transparent dialogue.
Key asks
- The EU should adopt a Civil society strategy based on three pillars: an enabling civic space for civil society, adequate and sustainable funding, and a mechanism to protect civil society, activists, under-represented groups (e. g. indigenous people) and defenders. The EU should ensure that there are harmonised standards that guarantee that civil dialogue can take place at appropriate levels, while supporting and funding a mutually beneficial EU-Global South civil dialogue and cooperation.
- The EU should introduce an EU interinstitutional agreement recognising civil dialogue as an essential element of European participatory democracy and with the aim to harmonise standards for civil dialogue across EU institutions and Member States. The agreement should be developed in cooperation with civil society organisations.
- The EU should build the capacity of CSOs to participate in civil dialogue and mainstream the engagement of organised civil society at all stages of the policy cycle, taking into account the inclusion of and outreach to marginalised and under-represented groups, and implementing follow-up and accountability mechanisms. This means establishing public participation processes as well as bottom-up civic participation.
- The EU should support cooperation between civil society organisations and social partners. Civil dialogue does not mean having a third social partner to engage in social dialogue, but to have a parallel, structured process for representing the diversity of civil society in Europe and local constituencies, contributing towards more fit for purpose and anchored public policies that benefit all. The two processes are not mutually exclusive but rather mutually reinforcing.
