Social Policies And Rights in Europe

2026-07-22

According to Eurobarometer in March 2021 88% of Europeans see a social Europe as important to them personally and 71% see a lack of social rights as being a serious problem. A social Europe must therefore be at the heart of the European project if it is to have the confidence and support of people across Europe. At the same time, there are still unacceptably high levels of poverty and social exclusion in Europe particularly among vulnerable groups such as children, Roma, migrants and others. The intersectionality of gender and anti-discrimination with social exclusion is evident more than ever and needs a mainstream approach to ensure that such barriers are removed. At the same time 93% of Europeans believe that climate change is the most serious problem affecting the world (Eurobarometer July 2021) and so it will be essential that going forward that the drive towards a just transition and a greener future is combined with our social policy outlook. These are the twin challenges that should drive us towards a future built on an economy of well-being where decisions are taken on the basis of how they improve the lives of people and communities, provide security in all areas of life, allow people to develop their skills and abilities and live in dignity. Eurodiaconia seeks to address these challenges through bringing the knowledge and experience of our vast, active and engaged membership into policy and advocacy actions that can contribute to developing and implementing sustainable, evidence-based and effective social policies that are driven from the EU level and are implemented in Member States. We will focus particularly on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the European Semester as well as specific policy areas relating to the most vulnerable in our societies. We will build capacity among our members to be active participants in bringing about structural and systemic change with the ultimate goal of no one being left behind.

Belgium

2025-12-15