EU Policy Pill – Report by the High-level group on the future of social protection and of the welfare state in the EU

The High-level group on the future of social protection and of the welfare state in the EU, which met between November 2021 and December 2022, had the task to draft and present a concrete policy report on the future of the welfare state and its financing. The report was prepared at the invitation of the European Commission, which undertook to launch the High-Level Expert Group in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan.

The report analyses the implications of the key megatrends for the design and scope of social protection systems and the financing of social protection. It takes into account demographic changes, recent trends in employment and labour income inequalities, technology and digitalisation and climate change and green transition. The impact of these megatrends on social and welfare policies is presented in a life-course perspective with distinguishing three functions of the welfare state (labour market regulation, social protection and social investment).

Although the expert group recognised that the European welfare states were too diverse to present one-size-fits-all solutions, the report introduces a list of 21 recommendations to modernise and reinforce the welfare state, which need to be considered at both the national and EU level.

The aim of this EU Policy Pill is to present the content of the report in an interactive way and it is not an analysis by SOLIDAR.

Expand the window below by clicking on the three dots and learn more about the Report!

This activity has been executed in the framework of the project ”Realising Social Europe For All and With All” with the financial support of the European Union, through the EaSI strand of the ESF+ programme.