Together with 33 European level civil society organisations, 45 Members of the European Parliament and 42 academics, we support the call initiated by our members Eurodiaconia and Social Platform as well as the European Anti Poverty Network and Caritas Europa, we support the call for a legally binding Framework Directive on Minimum Income, which would guarantee everyone’s right to an adequate minimum income and enable their full participation in society across the whole life span.

We call on the European Commission to respond to the Council Conclusions by presenting an ambitious proposal for an EU Framework Directive to guarantee an adequate, accessible, and enabling Minimum Income. This proposal would be one of the key EU initiatives in the upcoming Action Plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights, due to be launched early in 2021. It is a proposal which could reunite the EU Member States around a shared political and moral commitment to end poverty and social exclusion, to a Europe that promotes decent living, decent working conditions and social rights. It is a proposal which could help restore faith in the European project. It is a proposal which is legally and politically feasible, building on existing EU competencies in the social and cohesion policy fields, fully respecting principles of subsidiarity and proportionality and thus protecting national competencies.

The EU must find ways to ensure that the Social Pillar has a real impact on people’s lives. A Framework Directive on Minimum Income would be remembered as the new Commission’s flagship initiative that guarantees a right to an adequate income to the people in the poorest and most vulnerable situations, demonstrating to all that the EU delivers on its promises and prioritises protecting people as well as planet, in its commitment to a social, inclusive and sustainable recovery.

Please find here the full joint Statement.