Mutual learning on monitoring access to social protection 

These workshops aim at supporting Member States and contributing to the implementation of the principles set out in the Council Recommendation on access to social protection for workers and self-employed.   

Following the latest workshop organised in February 2024 about access to three health-related branches of social security, the focus this time was on data, indicators and monitoring systems.  

The aim of the workshop was to take stock of how data and statistics on access to social protection are defined, produced and used at national and EU levels and to support the improvement of the EU Monitoring framework on access to social protection. 

Background    

Access to social protection and healthcare are fundamental rights in the EU. Principle 12 of the European Pillar of Social Rights states that 'regardless of the type and duration of their employment relationship, workers, and, under comparable conditions, the self-employed have the right to adequate social protection'. To implement this principle, the Council adopted in November 2019 a Recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the self-employed.   

In order to assess the implementation of the Recommendation, the Commission and Member States established an EU Monitoring framework including common quantitative and qualitative indicators. It is updated on yearly basis (see latest 2023 update) and is being further developed by the Commission with the Social Protection Committee Indicators Subgroup.  

Moreover, the Recommendation also foresees that Member States collect and publish national statistics on access to the various forms of social protection, broken down by labour market status (self-employed/employee) and type of employment relationship. In January 2023, the Commission’s report showed a mixed picture in the implementation efforts of the Recommendation, three years after its adoption by the Council. It concluded that further implementation efforts are needed, not only to close existing gaps in working persons’ access, but also to develop reliable statistics and indicators in all Member States.   

The thematic papers, presentations and interactive discussions during the workshop helped identify relevant practices and actions taken by Member States to improve data, indicators as well as monitoring systems in the area of access to social protection.