Obtain binding and enforceable social objectives

Since the Lisbon Agenda in 2000, economic objectives such as growth, competitiveness, productivity and balanced budgets have been firmly anchored in the European Semester, and are enforced; but there has been little progress on the 20 principles in the 2017 European Pillar of Social Rights– they are still largely waiting to be applied.

With inequalities on the rise and the fall-out from the Covid-19 pandemic hitting employment and livelihoods, people can no longer wait. It is time to walk the talk. We want binding targets for social and employment goals to make social rights a reality for all Europeans. In our Porto Agenda – a strategic framework to make the EU’s Europe 2030 strategy a sustainable, fair and inclusive – we are pushing for binding targets to decrease the inequalities in our societies. And we are talking about very concrete targets that will make people’s lives better: by 2030 we want to halve youth unemployment, ensure men and women are paid equally, and everyone has access to affordable housing. Real social progress is within reach. We need to give social objectives legal enforceability, adopt identifiable, clear and mandatory targets and indicators of social sustainability, reform the governance framework and dedicate sufficient financial support and investment to make it happen.

We call on the Commission and EU governments to join our fight for living wages, decent work and robust welfare. That is what people deserve.