Formally proclaimed in 2017, the European Pillar of Social Rights sets out twenty social policy principles, including fair wages, adequate pensions and gender equality. In 2021, the European Commission presented an Action Plan to implement the Pillar. Later, at the Porto Social Summit, EU heads of state and government reaffirmed the three key targets for 2030: combating poverty, promoting employment and supporting lifelong learning. With its Communication on the European Pillar of Social Rights, presented on 22 July 2026, the Commission renews its commitment to a future-ready Social Europe.

What stands out immediately from the title of the Commission’s communication is that the document does not, overall, deliver what was originally promised. In 2025, the Commission launched a Public Consultation, inviting stakeholders and other interested parties to assess progress on implementing the EPSR since the 2021 Action Plan and to propose new measures. AK also contributed a comprehensive response. The consultation had announced a new action plan; however, the recently published communication falls short of that promise.

EU still far from some 2030 social targets

Alongside the communication, the Commission presented a Review of the 2021 Action Plan on the EPSR. A comparison shows that the EU is on course to meet its 2030 targets only on employment. It remains particularly far from the targets on lifelong learning and poverty reduction. For example, the EU aimed to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million by 2030, compared with 2019. Progress so far has been more than sobering: between 2019 and 2025, the figure fell by only 3.5 million.

The Commission also intends to advance the issue of job quality. It has announced an updated Employment Committee (EMCO) framework for monitoring job quality and refers to the Quality Jobs Act, expected by the end of the year. It also plans to consult Member States and stakeholders on a possible post-2030 job quality target, as AK has called for. As announced in the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, the Commission further intends to introduce new indicators on cost-of-living affordability and poverty.

Three priority areas for future measures

The Commission concludes that the EU social and employment policy context has changed significantly since the 2021 Action Plan. It identifies three priority areas for future measures: (1) cost-of-living affordability, (2) artificial intelligence, and (3) reducing inequalities while promoting fairness and equal opportunities. Many of these measures have already been announced elsewhere, including in the Quality Jobs Roadmap and the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy.

Alongside the Communication, the Commission launched a consultation with European social partners on activating people who face barriers to labour market access, including gender equality in employment opportunities. The Commission points to the 50 million working-age people in the EU who are currently outside the labour market, 32 million of them women, in addition to 12 million unemployed and 6.5 million underemployed people.

The Commission plans to present the Affordable Housing Act on 9 September 2026 and has also announced a simplification package for the housing sector. The Communication explicitly refers to food, energy and mobility poverty, as well as access to essential services. To address challenges in the care sector, the Commission points to the previously announced European Care Deal, expected in 2027. Alongside the EPSR communication, the Commission has also published a report on the implementation of the Minimum Wage Directive. Encouragingly, in-work poverty in the EU has been significantly reduced from 9.6% in 2016 to 8.3% in 2025.

On AI’s impact on the labour market, the Commission plans to establish a high-level expert group to assess long-term developments and effects of AI on the labour market. It also intends to support businesses in introducing algorithmic management tools responsibly and to provide additional help, particularly for SMEs, in implementing the Pay Transparency Directive. In addition, the Commission plans to present a ‘Right to Stay’ strategy to strengthen rural areas and EU regions, adopt a Vocational Education and Training (VET) strategy, and introduce a new EU youth strategy to promote fair and inclusive opportunities for all young people.

A broader agenda for social progress is needed

Although the European Commission’s EPSR communication addresses important issues such as the high cost of living and social inequality and announces mostly non-binding initiatives and analyses in relevant areas, fully implementing the EPSR’s progressive principles will require a much broader EU-wide agenda for social progress.

Further information

Commission: Communication on the European Pillar of Social Rights
Commission: Factsheet: A renewed commitment to a future-ready Social Europe
European Commission: European Pillar of Social Rights
AK EUROPA: New action plan to strengthen social rights. AK calls for ambitious measures
AK EUROPA: New Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights
AK EUROPA: Position Paper Quality Jobs Roadmap
AK EUROPA: Here to stay. The European Pillar of Social Rights