RREUSE has contributed to the European Commission’s consultation on the future of the European Pillar of Social Rights. We welcome the progress made so far, including enforceable 2030 social headline targets, but believe the next phase must go further to enforce social considerations across legislation, for instance, in environmental legislation, where eco-social innovation across Europe warrants better support.
In our response, we suggest recommendations for a bold future Social Pillar Action Plan, which can benefit reuse, repair, and recycling social enterprises and their target groups:
- Policy integration across domains: Social considerations should be fully embedded into environmental, procurement, and competition policies. Public procurement in particular offers an opportunity to align social and green criteria more closely.
- Legal and regulatory clarity: State aid rules and provisions for Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI) must be clarified and applied consistently to support social enterprises linking inclusion with environmental activities.
- Employment and inclusion: The EU should create a Job Guarantee scheme involving social economy actors, contributing to achieving the 2030 social headline targets. Stronger connections between the Social Economy Action Plan and other flagship strategies are also needed.
- Funding and strategic support: Adequate funding for the Pillar Action Plan - reflected in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) - is vital to support key social policy priorities and enable effective implementation
- Guiding principles and strategic alignment: The Social Pillar’s core principles—such as lifelong learning, equal opportunities, active support to employment, inclusion of people with disabilities, and access to essential services—must remain at the heart of future initiatives.
