Following the recently adopted EPSCO Council Conclusions on ”Strengthening Minimum Income Protection to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion in the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond”, we wrote a letter to Commissioner Schmit asking him to show strong leadership and respond to the Conclusions by making an ambitious proposal for an EU Framework Directive to guarantee an adequate, accessible and enabling Minimum Income, as one of the key headline EU initiatives in the upcoming Action Plan for implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights.
3 important reasons why the Commission must propose a Framework Directive in the EPSR Action Plan in 2021 are:
- Soft instruments have not succeeded in reducing poverty BEFORE the COVID crisis
- The Council Conclusions support and enable progress on MI and an EU framework
- A framework directive is feasible, and the best option to guarantee rights to an adequate MI for all
We believe that the Commission now has all the necessary evidence and arguments at its disposal. What is needed now is political will by the Commission to move from theoretical support to concrete action.
