Today, at an exchange of views with the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the President of the Council of Europe's European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR), Aoife Nolan, highlighted key aspects of the ECSR’s work throughout 2024 and 2025 focusing notably on its review of ad hoc state reports on the cost-of-living crisis. This review draws on 41 state reports and offers guidance on protecting rights in times of economic strain.
President Nolan also reported on the ECSR’s progress in collective complaints work, with 13 recent decisions on the merits covering issues from housing and employment rights to access to COVID-19 vaccines. She also referred to an increasing recognition of the Charter’s role across Europe and beyond, with numerous references in UN reports, EU initiatives, etc.
Ms Nolan also emphasized the crucial importance of the next High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter (ESC) which will take place in Chisinau in March 2026. The event will build on the momentum from recent milestones, including the Vilnius Declaration of 2024 and the Reykjavik Declaration, both of which reinforced commitments to strengthening social rights in Europe.
The President of ECSR finally stated that the protection of social rights is fundamental to ensure democratic security and resilience. “A CoE – or indeed a New Democratic Pact – that does not encompass a social rights-based conception of social justice will not speak to the socio-economic inequalities and concerns about the cost of living and precarity that constitute a clear a present danger to commitment to democracy in Europe”, she said.
The intervention was followed by a questions and answers session.
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