On Wednesday 19 March, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) presented an impressive study of the measures taken to counter the cost of living crisis in 41 States party to the ‘European Social Charter’.
This is a crisis that has been accentuated by the destabilisation of world markets, which was triggered in 2022 by the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
Although inflation slowed slightly in 2024, the cost of living has not returned to previous levels and the situation remains critical for millions of people, emphasises the Committee, which has structured its study along five lines: - social protection; - employment and wages; - housing; - energy and food; - groups particularly affected by the cost-of-living crisis.
Measures have been taken, but they were only temporary and meanwhile, the cost of living has continued to rise, notes the Committee, which is proposing a series of recommendations.
These include the importance of guaranteeing a minimum wage of no less than 60% of the net national average wage, increased provision of social housing, better protection against eviction, policies to guarantee stable access to sufficient energy in the long term, etc.
Ensuring the protection of social rights in Europe “meaningful pushback against the growing threats to democracy that have been fed by fears about diminishing living standards and life opportunities”, stressed Aoife Nolan, President of the ECSR, in concluding the presentation.
Link to the study: https://aeur.eu/f/g0p (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)