Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcasts.

In this podcast, we'll talk about how to build a strong and resilient European social model capable of addressing current and future challenges, such as deepening social divisions, worsened inequalities, or a growing democratic fragility. Stay with us. It's about your future.

We in Europe already enjoy one of the highest levels of social protection in the world.

And while this is undoubtedly a unique achievement, the world is changing, and our social

model needs to adapt too.

COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns have shaken our lives and our economies.

Beyond the health impacts, people lost their jobs or part of their income.

Those who kept on working had to do so from home, while homeschooling their kids

and solving internet connectivity problems or learning how to use Zoom.

The rapid uptake of teleworking and online services has boosted digitalization in Europe,

but also raised questions and brought new challenges, such as growing inequalities between areas,

skills levels, economic and age groups. And let's not forget that Europe is also an aging continent,

which puts extra pressure on our pension systems. The EU and its member states have put together

a package of measures to help citizens deal with the impacts

of the pandemic. But what else needs to be done to ensure we can continue to enjoy the same

high social standards in the future? The cornerstone of Europe's social protection model

is the European pillar of social rights adopted in 2017. It aims to

ensure equal opportunities and access to the labour market, fair working conditions, social protection

and inclusion. And it comes with a scoreboard that measures progress across member states.

This framework allows the European Parliament and Council to come up with new legislation,

for instance, to better protect vulnerable workers and to guarantee access to social protection

for all types of workers, including the self-employed.

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