—

having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), solemnly proclaimed by Parliament, the Council and the Commission on 17 November 2017,

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 4 March 2021 entitled ‘The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan’ (COM(2021)0102),

—

having regard to the Porto declaration of the European Council of 8 May 2021,

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 7 September 2022 on the European care strategy (COM(2022)0440),

—

having regard to the Council recommendation of 8 December 2022 on access to affordable high-quality long-term care (1),

—

having regard to the Council recommendation of 30 January 2023 on adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion (2),

—

having regard to its resolution of 15 March 2023 on adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion (3),

—

having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the motion for a resolution of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs,

A.

whereas sustainable development is a fundamental objective of the EU; whereas the three interlinked pillars of sustainable development are the economic, the social and the environmental; whereas sustainable development is based, among other things, on full employment, social progress and fairness; whereas a key fundamental objective of the EU, as laid down in Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union, is to achieve a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress; whereas the emphasis currently lies on economic and environmental sustainability;

B.

whereas the EPSR was proclaimed in 2017 in Gothenburg, setting out 20 principles and establishing a social rulebook towards a strong social Europe that is fair, inclusive and full of opportunity in the 21st century; whereas at the Porto Social Summit in May 2021, the Council committed to three headline targets for 2030 on employment, training and poverty; whereas at least 78 % of the population between 20 and 64 years old should be in employment by 2030; whereas job quality and working conditions remain outside of the scope of this target; whereas at least 60 % of all adults should participate in training every year; whereas the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion should be reduced by at least 15 million by 2030 — 5 million of whom should be children; whereas according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the risk of downward mobility among lower middle-income households has risen in the last two decades and is expected to continue to increase (4); whereas the three headline targets do not cover the full implementation of the EPSR;

C.

whereas the headline targets set out by the Commission have been implemented by the Member States for the past year; whereas the additional crises since the targets were decided have put additional pressure on reaching these targets; whereas five Member States have reached their national targets on employment, and half of the Member States have surpassed the 78 % target on employment; whereas however, projections show that not all Member States will reach the employment target by 2030 (5);

D.

whereas the social economy is a key driver for the implementation of the EPSR and can actively contribute to achieving the headline targets by 2030;

E.

whereas inflation at the EU level has increased the cost of living of median households by around 10 %, the incidence of material and social deprivation by around 2 % and the rate of energy poverty and absolute monetary poverty by around 5 %; whereas in selected Member States and among vulnerable groups, the corresponding welfare effects are expected to be several times higher; whereas this is likely to widen existing gaps in poverty and social exclusion across the EU (6); whereas Europe needs a new vision to become an innovative industrial location by 2050, especially in the context of the US Inflation Reduction Act and other similar investment plans from other non-EU countries;

F.

whereas according to Eurofound, the target of 60 % in training courses (paid for by the employer) was not reached in any Member State in 2021; whereas the data also shows that those most in need of training (young people, those with lower levels of educational attainment and those in low-skilled occupations) benefited the least;

G.

whereas the Commission presented a European care strategy in September 2022 and the Council adopted a Council recommendation on long-term care in December 2022 to implement principle 18 of the EPSR; whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled and highlighted the unsustainable working conditions of professional carers, the high burden on informal carers in the absence of formal care services and the high exposure of persons in need of care to infections, severe diseases and fatalities; whereas community- and home-based care have been shown to reduce the exposure of persons in need of care to infections; whereas in its 2021 report on long-term care, the Social Protection Committee revealed that long-term care needs increase the risk of poverty and social exclusion; whereas in the light of demographic developments, long-term care should be made more accessible and should ensure independence and quality of care, provide for sustainable working conditions and support informal carers;