The EU Rules & Actions

The EU’s social inclusion process uses a relative definitionof poverty that was first agreed by the European Council in 1975 : ‘... people are said to be living in poverty if their income and resources are so inadequate as to preclude them from having a standard of living considered acceptable in the society in which they live. Because of their poverty they may experience multiple disadvantages through unemployment, low income, poor housing, inadequate health care and barriers to lifelong learning, culture, sport and recreation. They are often excluded and marginalised from participating in activities (economic, social and cultural) that are the norm for other people and their access to fundamental rights may be restricted’.
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The European platform against poverty and social exclusion was one of the key initiatives of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It sets out how different policies and specific actions can contribute to the target of lifting at least 20 million people out of poverty and social exclusion by 2020.

​The economies of EU countries are recovering, with improvements also benefiting the most vulnerable. In 2017, there were 4.4 million fewer people living at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU, compared to pre-crisis levels in 2008. 

In 2020, there were 96.5 million people in the EU at risk of poverty or social exclusion, representing 21.9% of the population. 
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This information comes from data published by Eurostat in October 2021. 
In 2020, there were 75.3 million people at risk of poverty in the EU; 27.6 million were severely materially and socially deprived, and 27.1 million lived in a household with low work intensity.

Lack of or insufficient access to essential services is both the cause and the effects of social exclusion.

What are the essential services?
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The supply of water, energy, medical assistance, transport services, sanitation. And, more recently, financial services and digital communications have been added.

According to Article 151 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Union and the Member States shall have as their objective proper social protection and the combating of exclusion.

Legislation has been adopted on electricity, transport and telecommunication. The definition of a specific 'Universal Service Obligation' (USO) - set at European level - was an essential component of the smooth and gradual opening up to competition of the electronic communications, energy and transport sectors.

Telecommunication

The European Electronic Communications Code Directive (EU) 2018/1972 provides for a social safety net of basic services for consumers, particularly if they live in areas which are difficult or costly to service, or who have low incomes or disabilities.

Energy

The Electricity and Gas Directives contain clear provisions on public service obligations and consumer protection, including the protection of vulnerable customers. Measures adopted by Member States on the basis of these directives must be in the general interest, clearly defined, transparent, non-discriminatory and verifiable, and guarantee equality of access of EU electricity and gas companies to EU national consumers and vice versa.
There are special measures to fight energy poverty in Europe. Go to Energy Poverty Page.

Payment Accounts
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The Directive 2014/92/EU on payment accounts, which requires Member States to ensure that all consumers have access to payment accounts with basic features, is another example of concrete Union action to allow for affordable essential services.
In so far as they are services of general economic interest, essential services benefit from special treatment in the application of State aid rules which provide greater flexibility and simplification than in other areas.


Situation in the Member States

Most services are regulated but the right to access, their management and their scope varies significantly among Member States, depending on geographical and cultural traditions, as well as specificities of the activity concerned.
As a consequence, access to these services is extremely diverse in Member States.

There are examples of initiatives reinforcing consumer's rights, for example in the energy sector where recent initiatives in Ireland and Latvia give energy consumers the right to choose suppliers and use the best offers on the market.

Or the roll-out of smart meters (an electronic device that records consumption of electric energy in intervals and communicates that information to the utility for monitoring and billing) to improve consumer empowerment in Finland, Italy or Sweden.

International dimension In the negotiation of trade agreements, the Commission includes solid guarantees to fully protect essential services, in so far as they are public services. This ensures that Member States remain entirely free to organise and manage such services as they wish, for example by setting the quality standards that suppliers have to meet. They are protected in trade agreements in two ways: through a positive list where each EU Member State specifies the kinds of service it will open up to foreign suppliers, or through a negative list where EU Member States exclude foreign suppliers from delivering certain services.. Directive 2002/22/EC on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services