Programme and Speakers at the High-level Conference on the European Social Charter
Building on the 2023 Reykjavík Declaration and the 2024 Vilnius Declaration, the 2026 High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter will focus on strengthening the protection and implementation of social rights across Europe. The Conference aims to promote wider ratification and acceptance of the Charter, reinforce political commitment and partnerships, and highlight the Charter’s role as a foundation of the European human rights system.
Discussions will examine the contribution of social rights to democratic stability and security, efforts to reduce inequality, and the prevention of democratic backsliding, including in the context of the New Democratic Pact for Europe. Participants will also address key challenges linked to the future of work, particularly those arising from technological change.
Ministers and senior officials will review progress in the ongoing Charter reform process, with the opportunity to take on further commitments during a dedicated treaty event.
The Conference will conclude with the adoption of a final Declaration reaffirming the collective commitment to social rights and to the European Social Charter.
Download the Programme
09:00 – 09:20 Opening statements - Open to Press
09:20 - 10:00 Institutional Statements
Moderated by Mr Vytautas Šilinskas, Minister of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania
See above
Marc Cools (Belgium, ILDG) was elected President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on 24 October 2023 for a mandate of two years and a half. He is currently the Communal Councillor of Uccle (Belgium) and Honorary Vice-President of the Brussels Parliament and was previously the chair of the Independent and Liberal Democrat Group in the Congress.
Aoife Nolan, President of the European Committee of Social Rights
Aoife Nolan is President of the Council of Europe's European Committee of Social Rights, which she joined in 2017, having served as Vice-President from 2021-22. She is also Professor of International Human Rights Law and Director of the Human Rights Law Centre at the University of Nottingham. Professor Nolan’s professional experience in human rights and constitutional law straddles the legal, policy, practitioner and academic fields. She has published extensively in the areas of human rights and constitutional law, particularly in relation to social rights and children’s rights.
Professor Nolan has acted as an expert advisor to several governments as well as a wide range of international and national organisations and bodies working on social rights issues, including numerous UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, the Council of Europe, the World Bank, multiple NHRIs and NGOs. She has held visiting positions at academic institutions in Europe, Africa, the US and Australia. She is an Academic Expert member at Doughty Street Chambers where she co-leads the Children’s Rights Group and is a member of the Doughty Street International steering group.
This session will emphasise the crucial role of social rights, as guaranteed by the European Social Charter system, in building stable and resilient democracies.
In the framework of the New Democratic Pact, Ministers and high-level officials will highlight the link between social justice and democratic stability and security, examining how social rights act as safeguards against democratic erosion and as foundations for inclusive, sustainable societies reinforcing public trust in democratic institutions.
Having regard to contemporary societal challenges, the session will address social rights shortfalls, socio-economic inequality and the cost-of-living crisis and their potential for creating political backlash.
Statements by heads of national delegations / Exchange of views
Responses from other stakeholders (EC/DG EMPL, UNFPA, EESC
Advisory Council on Youth, UGT,…)
Mr Olivier de Schutter, UN Rapporteur for Extreme Poverty and Human Rights and member of the European Committee of Social Rights
Keynote speech
Statements by heads of national delegations / Exchange of views
Responses from other stakeholders (OECD, EIGE, ILO, European Youth Forum, ITUC, …)
This session will examine the impact of rapid technological change and environmental risks including artificial intelligence, platform work, and non-standard employment, as well as transition to a green economy, on the future of work and social rights. Ministers and high-level participants will reflect on the challenges these transformations pose to fairness, security, and dignity at work.
The discussion will also address the need to foster open and transparent dialogue between workers and employers. Participants will further consider how to ensure that technological innovation goes hand in hand with the protection of human rights and will consider environmental risks.
Keynote Speech: Mr George Theodosis, Vice-President of the European Committee of Social Rights
This session will reflect on ways to further increase the Charter’s relevance and impact, exploring how social rights can shape and support State efforts to tackle key contemporary challenges, notably the cost of living, ageing societies and climate change.
Keynote Speeches:
Ms Tatiana Puiu, Vice-President of the European Committee of Social Rights
Statements by heads of national delegations / Exchange of views
Responses from other stakeholders (ETUC, CiNGO, ANESC, NNHRIs, Equality Bodies)
Keynote Speeches: Ms Tatiana Puiu, Vice-President of the European Committee of Social Rights
Moderated by Ms Natalia Plugaru, Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova
Statements by heads of national delegations / Exchange of views
This session will allow a few heads of national delegations to express and explain their support for the Conference Declaration and for future activities and developments intended to strengthen the Council of Europe response in the area of social rights and the European Social Charter.
Adoption of a Political Declaration by the Ministers and high-level officials
