Date: 06/2021

On 4th March 2021, the European Commission published its Action Plan for delivering the Pillar of Social Rights, setting new headline targets at EU level to be reached by 2030 in the areas of employment, skills and social protection. The new action plan transforms the 20 social principles and rights of the Pillar as endorsed in 2017 into concrete actions for ensuring well-functioning and fair social protection systems.

Following the new Action Plan, several principles of the Pillar will require further legislative or non-legislative initiatives at the EU level which will have direct relevance to the broader objectives of the ETS project.

Notably, with the Action Plan the European Commission aims to encourage the Member States to further ensure access to social protection to workers in all forms of employment and the ETS project’s vision remains very much in line with these efforts. The functioning ETS will contribute to the principles of the Pillar by increasing the awareness and extending the access to pension benefits for mobile workers, including those in non-standard forms of employment and the self-employed, making information easily accessible, regardless of worker’s country of residence throughout their career.

The ETS project addresses important elements for the full realization of the Pillar’s Action Plan, targeting administrative simplification and providing digital services towards better pension communication.

The European Commission will carry out a revision of the new Action Plan in 2025 as a basis for further actions and with a view to achieving the 2030 headline targets.