Reporting system of the European Social Charter

The reporting system is formally governed by Articles 21-29 of the 1961 Charter.

In the framework of this monitoring system, States Parties regularly submit a report on the implementation of the Charter in law and in practice. These reports are examined by the European Committee of Social Rights, which decides whether the national situations they describe comply with the Charter. The decisions adopted by the European Committee of Social Rights in the framework of the reporting system, called "conclusions", are published every year. They can be consulted using the European Social Charter HUDOC Database. When the European Committee of Social Rights concludes that a situation is not in conformity, the State Party concerned has to bring the situation into conformity.

The follow-up of the conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights is ensured by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which intervenes in the last stage of the Reporting System. Its work is prepared by the Governmental Committee of the European Social Charter and the European Code of Social Security, comprising representatives of the States parties to the Charter and assisted by observers representing European employers’ organisations and trade unions.

Having regard to the proposals made by the Governmental Committee, the Committee of Ministers adopts a Resolution closing each supervision cycle and may contain individual recommendations to the States parties concerned. If a State takes no action, the Committee of Ministers, on a proposal from the Governmental Committee, may address a Recommendation to that State, asking it to change the situation in law and/or in practice.

Ultimately, it falls to the European Committee of Social Rights to determine whether the situation has been brought into compliance with the Charter. This is done by the Committee in the framework of the reporting system or the collective complaints procedure.

More on the reporting system

National Reports

National reports can be consulted on the country profiles web pages.

Please note that reports are published in the form they are submitted by States Parties that are responsible for their content.

European committee of social rights questions to States parties

In accordance with the decision of 27 September 2022 of the Ministers’ Deputies concerning the reform of the system of presentation of reports relating to the application of the European Social Charter, States Parties not having accepted the collective complaints procedure yet, should submit a report every two years responding to questions on one of two groups of Charter provisions.

Further to this decision, the authorities of those states parties have been invited to submit a report on the first group of provisions. The European Committee of Social Rights and the Governmental Committee of the European Social Charter and European Code of Social Security have defined a limited number of targeted questions to be answered in the report.

States Parties are requested to respond to these questions only in so far as they have accepted the provisions to which the questions relate.

The deadline for submission of the report is 31 December 2024.

Questionnaire

*First Group
Article 1 - Article 2 - Article 3 - Article 4 - Article 5 - Article 6 - Article 8 - Article 9 - Article 10 - Article 18 - Article 19 - Article 20 - Article 21 - Article 22 - Article 24 - Article - 25 - Article 28 - Article 29.
Second Group
Article 7 - Article 11 - Article 12 - Article 13 - Article 14 - Article 15 - Article 16 - Article 17 - Article 23 - Article 26 - Article 27 - Article 30 - Article 31.

Ad Hoc Reports

In accordance with the decision of the Ministers’ Deputies adopted on 27 September 2022 concerning the new system for the presentation of reports under the European Social Charter, the European Committee of Social Rights and the Governmental Committee have decided to request an ad hoc report on the cost-of-living crisis to all State parties.

The reports were sent in electronic form by 31 December 2023.

Questions

latest conclusions

Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights 2023 (Children, Family and Migrants)
Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights 2022 (Labour rights)
Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights 2021 (Health, social security and social protection)
Conclusions of the European Committee of Social RIghts 2020 (Employment, training and equal opportunities)
Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights 2019 (Children, family and migrants)
Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights 2018 (Labour rights)

conclusions on hudoc

The HUDOC Database of the European Social Charter allows users to make an in-depth research on the conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights in the framework of the Reporting System, as well as on Resolutions and Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers in the framework of the follow-up procedure.

Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights on HUDOC

Resolutions and Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on HUDOC

The European Social Charter
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Shortcuts

events

Back Deputy Secretary General opens Joint Workshop on family as a hub for social policies in Rome

The Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni will open together with the Italian Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family, Elena Bonetti the Joint Workshop on family as a hub for social policies. The event is organised by the Department for Family Policies of the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the European Social Cohesion Platform (PECS) of the Council of Europe and will take place in Rome on 9 and 10 October.

The joint workshop will be focused on the main social topics having an impact on both women and men, especially on working mothers and fathers and their children and it is divided into 4 working sessions:

Work-life balance and company welfare;
Family measures to promote the increase in the birth-rate in Europe;
Support services for children witnessing violence and children orphaned by domestic crimes;
Eradication of child poverty.

Opening remarks will also be addressed by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Armenia, Zaruhi Batoyan; by the Minister of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania, Linas Kukuraitis and by the Minister for the Family, Children’s Rights, and Social Solidarity of Malta, Michael Falzon.

The joint workshop will be followed by the 4th meeting of the European Social Cohesion Platform*. The Platform will exchange views on the draft work plan for 2020-2021 and make proposals for future activities, it will examine the draft Declaration of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on Addressing Child Poverty, as well as the draft Council of Europe Revised Strategy (2020-2021) on social cohesions. In addition, the Platform will hold a discussion on the Report on Middle Class and Social Cohesion that will be presented by Prof. Paolo Graziano, the author.

* The objective of the European Social Cohesion Platform is to reinforce the intergovernmental component of the Secretary General’s strategy to enhance the Council of Europe’s work in the area of social cohesion, in particular through the promotion of the European Social Charter and its collective complaints procedure in order to ensure equal and effective access to social rights.