Active Inclusion
Active inclusion means enabling every citizen, notably the most disadvantaged, to fully participate in society, including having a job.
In concrete terms, that means:
Challenges
Active inclusion is intended to tackle poverty and social exclusion. People who are most concerned are the ones in working age who are furthest or even excluded from the labour market.
Due to labour market segmentation they could also be working in precarious jobs, which places them at a risk of in work poverty.
Labour market exclusion is frequently paired with exclusion from social life and putting people at risk of loneliness.
Social exclusion makes it impossible for people to enjoy the same rights and opportunities as the others in the society. Individuals and their families in vulnerable situations cannot fulfil their potential, nor can they participate equally in society.
Policy response
Principle 14 of the European Pillar of Social Rights states that people should have the right to effective access to adequate minimum income support and enabling goods and services, which should be combined with incentives to (re)integrate into the labour market.
This approach is in line with the Commission Recommendation of 3 October 2008 on the active inclusion of people excluded from the labour market.
The Commission highlighted the importance of social investment in its Social Investment Package (SIP), which is about investing in people.
It covers policies designed to strengthen people’s skills and capacities and support them to participate fully in employment and social life. Key policy areas include education, quality childcare, healthcare, training, job-search assistance and rehabilitation.
To support the actions in the area, Member States can also rely on funding at EU level, in particular from the European Social Fund Plus and the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The Commission also cooperates with Member States through the European Semester.
In concrete terms, that means:
- adequate income support allowing a life in dignity at all stages of life;
- inclusive labour markets by making it easier for people to join the work force, tackling in-work poverty, avoiding poverty traps and disincentives to work;
- access to quality services, including social inclusion services - helping people participate actively in society, including getting back to work.
Challenges
Active inclusion is intended to tackle poverty and social exclusion. People who are most concerned are the ones in working age who are furthest or even excluded from the labour market.
Due to labour market segmentation they could also be working in precarious jobs, which places them at a risk of in work poverty.
Labour market exclusion is frequently paired with exclusion from social life and putting people at risk of loneliness.
Social exclusion makes it impossible for people to enjoy the same rights and opportunities as the others in the society. Individuals and their families in vulnerable situations cannot fulfil their potential, nor can they participate equally in society.
Policy response
Principle 14 of the European Pillar of Social Rights states that people should have the right to effective access to adequate minimum income support and enabling goods and services, which should be combined with incentives to (re)integrate into the labour market.
This approach is in line with the Commission Recommendation of 3 October 2008 on the active inclusion of people excluded from the labour market.
The Commission highlighted the importance of social investment in its Social Investment Package (SIP), which is about investing in people.
It covers policies designed to strengthen people’s skills and capacities and support them to participate fully in employment and social life. Key policy areas include education, quality childcare, healthcare, training, job-search assistance and rehabilitation.
To support the actions in the area, Member States can also rely on funding at EU level, in particular from the European Social Fund Plus and the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The Commission also cooperates with Member States through the European Semester.
Minimum Income
Minimum income benefits comprise last resort means-tested support offered by national authorities in EU countries to combat poverty and social exclusion. Minimum income schemes are part of the wider welfare systems.
Minimum income benefits are usually available for people of working age and aim to ensure a minimum standard of living for individuals and their dependents, when they have insufficient or no other means of financial support.
These benefits are an essential instrument across EU countries to sustain income, decrease inequalities and reduce poverty. All Member States have some form of minimum income.
Challenges
Minimum income schemes vary significantly in the adequacy (level) and coverage of benefits, as well as with the articulation with activation measures and enabling social inclusion.
On average, around 35% of the working age EU population at risk of poverty is not covered by minimum income or any other social benefits.
The levels of minimum income benefit are mostly well below national poverty thresholds – varying between 20% to 80% of the national thresholds and only reaching them in a very limited number of countries.
Many countries do not have a well-developed pathway, that enables minimum income recipients to access the labour market. In turn, the overall effectiveness of minimum income schemes in addressing poverty and social exclusion varies.
Policy response
European Pillar of Social RightsWhile designing social protection systems is primarily a responsibility of the Member States, the EU has promoted effective minimum income schemes and the active inclusion approach through the European Pillar of Social Rights, and in particular its Principle 14.
Pillar Principle 14 builds on two earlier policy initiatives:
- Council Recommendation 92/441/EEC on common criteria concerning sufficient resources and social assistance in social protection systems calls on Member States to recognise the right to social assistance and sets out principles and guidelines to implement this right
- Commission Recommendation 2008/867/EC on the active inclusion of persons excluded from the labour market calls on Member States to combine adequate income support with inclusive labour market measures and access to quality services, in an integrated active inclusion strategy. The implementation of the Recommendation was reviewed in 2013 and 2017.
Social Protection Committee
In 2018 the Social Protection Committee approved a dedicated benchmarking framework to support the monitoring of minimum incomes, including in the European Semester, and to facilitate upward convergence.
The framework covers adequacy, coverage, activation elements and access to services relevant for the minimum income schemes. It includes outcome and performance indicators and allows undertaking an assessment of the respective elements of the schemes, in particular the adequacy of income support by a twofold indicator.
Council Conclusions
In 2020, Council Conclusions on Strengthening Minimum Income Protection to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion in the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond, recalled that minimum income protection, accompanied by activation and enabling services, plays a vital role in mitigating the risk of poverty and social exclusion and supports the most disadvantaged in society, both now and in the future.
As announced in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, the Commission adopted in September 2022 a proposal to update the existing EU policy framework in a form of a Council recommendation on adequate minimum income.
The new initiative builds on the existing provisions of Recommendation 92/441/EEC and the active inclusion approach of the Commission Recommendation 2008/867/EC.
Funding
To support the actions in this area Member States can also rely on funding at EU level, in particular from the European Social Fund Plus and the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
Further measures
Work on further measures in this area is regularly undertaken by the Social Protection Committee, for example through Peer reviews aimed at bench-learning and exchanges of good practices.
In addition, the SPC has set up the Minimum Income Network (MINET), as its working group to regularly exchange experience and good practices among Member States’ experts in the field of minimum income .
The Commission monitors developments with minimum income schemes through the European Semester.
The Joint Employment Report contains information about the adequacy of schemes.
The country reports take stock of relevant reforms at national level. Where needed, country-specific recommendations may be issued to the Member States.
Related Projects
- Minimum Income Network (MINET): a network for mutual learning and the exchange of best practices on minimum income
- European Minimum Income Network (EMIN): a pilot project for an informal Network of organisations and individuals committed to achieve the progressive realisation of the right to adequate, accessible and enabling Minimum Income Schemes
- European Reference Budgets Network: a pilot project to create a common methodology for comparable reference budgets across EU Member States
- EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) - Projects
- Study about the methodology to measure the returns on investment from integrated social assistance schemes: a study to explore a possible methodology and analyse various aspects of these schemes, including coverage, take-up, adequacy and access to a selected number of services.
Inclusive labour markets
Labour markets are inclusive, when everyone of working age, in particular vulnerable and disadvantaged people, can participate in quality, paid work.
Promoting inclusive labour markets enables people to join (or re-join) the workforce and concretly means:
- Supporting job creation, promoting the social economy and inclusive entrepreneurship as well as removing obstacles to work helps people integrate in the labour market;
- Preventing in-work poverty, quality jobs are essential and policies focusing on adequate pay and benefits, rights at work, sufficient working conditions, including health and safety are key;
- Promoting skills and qualifications and ensuring access to adult learning improves stay in work and helps people advance in their careers.
Policy response
The European Pillar of Social Rights and in particular its Principles 4,13 and 14 provide for active support to employment, unemployment benefits and a minimum income for every EU citizen.
In 2008, the EU’s active inclusion recommendation asked governments to develop a comprehensive strategy based on 3 social policy areas of adequate income support, inclusive labour markets and access to quality services.
Particularly on inclusive labour markets, practical measures such as adult learning, in-work support, etc. were recommended.
In 2013, the EU's Social Investment Package urged governments to speed up the implementation of the Active Inclusion recommendation.
An accompanying paper highlighted 2 key problems of in-work poverty and disincentives to work – linked to tax and benefits systems.
In 2016 the Council adopted a Recommendation on the integration of the long-term unemployed in the labour market putting forward three key steps: while encouraging the registration of long-term unemployed with an employment service, each registered person should be provided with an individual in-depth assessment to identify their needs and potential and offered a job integration agreement at the very latest at 18 months of unemployment.
To support the actions in the area Member States can also rely on funding at EU level, in particular from the European Social Fund Plus and the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
Work on further measures in the area is undertaken by the Social Protection Committee. The Commission also cooperates with Member States through the European Semester.
Background documents
- Portraits of labour market exclusion – a joint World Bank and Commission project profiling unemployed and economically inactive people in 6 EU countries (Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece)
- Portraits of Labour Market Exclusion 2.0 – Faces of Joblessness – a joint study between the European Commission, the World Bank, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – aims to improve understanding of labour market barriers and help inform employment support and social inclusion policymaking.
Access to high-quality social services
Every citizen should have access to quality services, such as early childhood education and care, long-term care, housing, education and training or healthcare.
Those services fulfil an enabling function, in particular for persons in vulnerable situations caused by poverty, health or housing status or other vulnerability.
Additionally, the persons in vulnerable situations should be provided with social services, aimed at social inclusion.
Examples of these services include: social work, counselling, coaching, mentoring, psychological support, rehabilitation, domestic violence intervention and prevention. Those services provide an important support leading to inclusion in society, and, if possible, in integration in the labour market.
Challenges
Social services are unevenly and unequally developed across the EU.
The prevailing challenges in the sector are diversity across and within the Member States, including scattering of competences across administrative and policy levels, underfinancing and a lack of quality assurance or standards.
Due to these challenges, the implementation of the third strand of the Active Inclusion Recommendation dedicated to enhancing access to quality services for persons excluded from the labour market has been slow.
More attention has been dedicated to cash benefits than services, which design, financing, delivery and evaluation are typically spread across different levels of government and involve different actors.
While important differences exist among the Member States, significant regional disparities and overall inequalities also prevail. Importantly, as social inclusion services often serve as an entry point into the social protection system.
Therefore, the fact that people at vulnerable situation have no or limited access to targeted social services impacts their overall access to other important public services, such as healthcare or training.
Policy response
Quality of social services is a common thread throughout 20 principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, be it in the area of equal rights and access to labour market, fair working conditions or social protection.
In 2008, the EU’s active inclusion recommendation asked governments to develop a comprehensive strategy based on three social policy areas of adequate income support, inclusive labour markets and access to quality services.
Particularly on access to quality services Member States were recommended to ensure the provision of social services through assuring their availability, equal access, investment in human capital, integrated delivery aimed at comprehensive measures, users involvement and monitoring performance.
Social Investment Package
The Social Investment Package undertook a first stock-taking of the implementation of the Active Inclusion Recommendation and provided further recommendations on its effective implementation.
The package recommended that services should be delivered in a personalised and integrated way. Integration of services – according to the package - would be a step towards more effective and efficient social services, a prime example for social investment.
Integrating social services can improve both their efficiency and effectiveness. This approach could have a positive impact on avoiding duplication and loopholes in the social services system, increasing its outreach as well as making it easier to pool information and knowledge, and facilitating the identification of needs and appropriate responses.
The 2018 study on integrated delivery of social services provides a comprehensive analysis and assessment of reform processes focused on integration of social services aimed at the activation of minimum income recipients in the labour market.
It is complemented by a practitioners’ checklist providing concrete guidance and tools, as well as insight into the rationale behind, and the connections between the elements of service deliver,
European Semester
The Commission also engages in discussions with Member States about ways to enhance effectiveness and efficiency of social services in the context of the European Semester.
Through the Country Specific Recommendations of the European Semester, the Commission regularly focuses on sustainability of the provision of social services, including their access and availability.
Social Protection Committee
The Commission follows-up on the implementation of these recommendations together with the Member States in the context of the Social Protection Committee multilateral implementation reviews, where the Member States respective actions are discussed in detail.
Moreover, work on further improving quality of social services is regularly undertaken by this Committee, for example through Peer reviews aimed at bench-learning and exchanges of good practices amongst the Member States.
EU rules and Commission's initiatives
In modernising social services to better respond to changing needs, societal challenges, for example population ageing and financing constraints, national authorities are increasingly diversifying the ways in which these services are organised, provided and financed (for example, decentralisation, outsourcing of certain tasks to private – profit or non-profit – providers).
Consequently, a growing proportion of these services now come under the scope of EU rules on competition and the internal market, as well as on public procurement, on which guidance has been updated to take into account social considerations.
Interest has been growing among public authorities, services providers, users and other stakeholders in quality of social services.
The Commission supports the development, (within the Social Protection Committee) of a Voluntary EU Quality Framework providing guidelines on how to set, monitor and evaluate quality standards. The framework sets out a wide range of quality principles for national, regional and local level administration and service providers, addressing broadly all social services.
