In a ground-breaking ‘decision’ published on Wednesday 26 February, the Council of Europe’s European Committee of Social Rights concludes that “stable, consistent and safe access to adequate energy” is a prerequisite and a key element for the enjoyment of the rights to housing, health, education and protection against poverty and social exclusion as protected by the Revised European Social Charter.
The collective complaint behind this ‘decision’ concerns the power cuts that began in 2020 and continue in parts of the Cañada Real Galiana shantytown in Madrid, affecting the lives of at least 4,500 residents, including 1,800 children.
It was filed in 2022 by several NGOs, including ATD Fourth World.
In its ‘decision’, the European Committee of Social Rights considers that when States choose to supply energy through private companies, they cannot ‘outsource‘ their human rights obligations to these companies.
Guaranteeing the rights protected by the charter remains the responsibility of the State, in this case Spain, which has failed in this responsibility and violated several articles of the charter, concludes the European Committee of Social Rights.
Link to the text of the ‘decision’: https://aeur.eu/f/fng (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)