The European Commission is asking for views on the impact of the 2021 Action Plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the lessons learnt and potential areas for improvement where further progress might be needed. The Commission also seeks input for a new Action Plan that will be launched in the coming months. It has launched a public consultation and a call for evidence on the new Action Plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights.
COFACE Families Europe welcomes the European Commission’s efforts to renew the Action Plan for implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights and highlights the urgent need to strengthen the family dimension of EU social and employment policies.
Families are at the core of Europe’s social fabric, yet policies often overlook their realities, particularly those of carers, single parents, and families in vulnerable situations.
COFACE calls for an ambitious, family-centred approach across 6 key areas:
- Strengthening the Family Dimension of the Union of Skills. Education and training policies frequently fail to address family realities, creating barriers for parents and carers—especially single mothers, families with disabilities, and low-income households. COFACE proposes a “Family Test” to ensure EU-funded programmes are accessible to all. Inclusive education must be prioritised, including full participation of children with disabilities and stronger anti-discrimination measures in schools. Digital inequalities persist, with 5.4% of children digitally deprived; bridging this divide requires investment in digital upskilling for disadvantaged groups and inclusive workplaces.
- A Strong Gender Equality Strategy Post-2025. Despite progress, the gender care and employment gaps remain wide. Women still shoulder most unpaid care work, face persistent discrimination in hiring, and remain underrepresented in leadership. COFACE urges a post-2025 strategy that: expands accessible care services to reduce the gender care gap; strengthens corporate reporting on pay gaps, leadership representation, and parental leave uptake by fathers; applies a multi-generational and intersectional approach, recognising diverse family forms and overlapping vulnerabilities; ensures full implementation of anti-discrimination directives to create inclusive labour markets.
- Effective Implementation of the Work-Life Balance Directive. The Directive remains inadequately transposed in most Member States. COFACE calls Member States to provide adequately paid, non-transferable leave for both parents and carers, alongside flexible uptake arrangements. The persistent childcare gap—where families struggle between the end of parental leave and access to formal childcare—requires urgent EU-level action. Additionally, the Action Plan should promote a right to disconnect, fair telework rules, and health-promoting workplaces, particularly to support older workers.
- Boosting the European Care Strategy and Quality Early Childhood Education and Care. The needs of informal carers remain insufficiently addressed. COFACE calls for an ambitious long-term care action plan, greater EU support for service providers, and a European platform to strengthen dialogue and transparency. For ECEC, investments are critical to reach 2030 targets: ensuring adequate staff-child ratios, well-trained and fairly paid staff, and strong partnerships with parents.
- Stepping Up the European Child Guarantee. Child poverty and social exclusion remain pressing challenges. The EU should foster cross-sectoral coordination (e.g., family hubs integrating education, housing, health, and transport services), supported by ESF+ and ERDF investments. Family support services must be universally accessible and range from general to highly specialised. COFACE also stresses the need to integrate family perspectives into energy poverty policies, ensuring benefits account for household size and specific family needs.
- Better Data on Families and Care Relations. EU social surveys often fail to capture realities of caregiving both within and beyond households. Improved monitoring tools are essential, including an EU-SILC ad hoc module on “Adult Care & Work,” and distinctions between family and household types. Better data on unpaid care work will allow evidence-based policymaking and reduce risks of reinforcing inequalities.
Families, in all their diversity, are essential to Europe’s resilience and prosperity; the new Action Plan must fully recognise and support them. You can consult COFACE’s full response to the public consultation here.
