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Social security systems are one of the most powerful
institutional expressions of social solidarity and an important means by
which to ensure an adequate standard of living for the people of Europe.
Since it was founded in 1949, the Council of Europe, whose aim is "to achieve
a greater unity between its members for the purpose of safeguarding and
realising the ideals and principles which are their common heritage and
facilitating their economic and social progress", has played a major role in
establishing social security minimum standards in Europe, developing social
security coordination between its member states, and monitoring developments
in the field of social security in Europe.
The legal instruments of
the Council of Europe relating to social security may be classified as either
standard-setting instruments or co-ordinating ones.
Standard-setting instruments require states to alter the substance of their
social security systems. They may have to change the amount of benefit or
length of the qualifying period.
The
European Code of Social Security and its
Protocol, as well as the
Revised European Code of Social Security, set standards in the
social security field on the basis of minimum harmonisation of the level of
social security, providing minimum standards and permitting (or rather
encouraging) the contracting parties to exceed these standards.
These standard-setting instruments set out the underlying
principles of what is referred to as the European social security model.
Co-ordination of social security is concerned with migrants, people who move
to another country in order to live or work there. Co-ordination provisions
ensure that migrants are treated fairly as regards social security. They also
aim to reduce some of the disadvantages of moving from one state to another,
particularly in respect of long-term benefits such as old age pensions.
Co-ordination provisions do not oblige states to directly alter the substance
of their social security laws. The amount of benefit, duration of payment and
qualification periods all remain the same.
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News
Since January 2012,
activities in relation to the European Social Charter and the European
Code of Social Security have been put together. As part of the process,
the International Labour Organisations' (ILO) conclusions related to the
monitoring of compliance with the European Code of Social Security are
now examined by the Governmental Committee of the European Social
Charter, which for this purpose has been renamed Governmental Committee
of the European Social Charter and the European Code of Social Security.
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Focus
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15th MISSCEO network meeting, Strasbourg, 4-5 July 2013 (more...) |
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127th meeting of the Governmental Committee of the
European Social Charter and the European Code of Social Security, 27-31 May 2013
(more...) |
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The 2012 MISSCEO data
is now available on line (more…) |
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Seminar on recent case-law
of Constitutional Courts in the field of Social security, 29-30
November 2011, Strasbourg
(more...)
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Recent
publications
Sustaining European social security systems in a globalised economy
(2012)
Order this book
Anti-crisis measures - Safeguarding jobs and social security in
Europe (2011)
Order this book
Guide to the concept of suitable employment in the context of
unemployment benefit (2010)
Order this book
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