Proposal for a COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION On adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion
Date: 2022-09-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: EU employment policy, European social policy, integration into employment, labour market, marginalisation, poverty, social assistance, social integration, social security, subsistence level income

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 28.9.2022  COM(2022) 490 final 2022/0299 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION On adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion {SWD(2022) 313 final}  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

• 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

Ensuring that every person in the Union can enjoy a  life in dignity is essential to build 
fair  and  resilient  economies  and  societies.  In  her  political  guidelines1,  Commission 
President  Ursula  von  der  Leyen  expressed  an  aspiration  for  a  Europe  that  strives  for  more 
social fairness and prosperity. This initiative delivers on the ambition and commitment of the 
Union to promote more inclusive economies and ensure that no one is left behind.  

Despite  policies  to  combat  poverty  and  improvements  over  the  last  decade,  the  risk  of 
poverty  or  social  exclusion  affected  over  95.4  million  Europeans  in  2021.  In  many 
Member States there has been an increase over the last decade in the poverty risk for people 
living in (quasi)jobless households2, worsening in the depth and persistence of poverty and a 
decline in the impact of social transfers on poverty reduction. Until 2020 the Union economy 
continued to expand, employment reached the highest level ever recorded and unemployment 
returned to the pre-2008 levels. The COVID-19 pandemic led however to an economic shock. 
The  Union  and  the  Member  States  stepped  up  social  protection  significantly,  providing  a 
comprehensive  response  to  the  unprecedented  social  challenges  that  arose.  Nevertheless, 
confinement  measures  have  had  a  disproportionate  impact  on  women  and  people  in 
vulnerable situations, notably in terms of the higher burden of informal care work and more 
limited  access  to  healthcare,  education  and  relevant  social  services,  also  aggravating  pre-
existing limitations in access to employment. 

More  recently,  following  Russia’s  illegal  and  unjustified  aggression  against  Ukraine,  the 
sharp increase in energy prices and hiking inflation affect in particular low- and lower middle-
income households, as the share of energy and food consumption in their overall incomes is 
generally higher.   

The  fight  against  poverty  and  social  exclusion  and  the  right  to  adequate  minimum  income 
occupies a central role in the European Pillar of Social Rights. Principle 14 of the Pillar states 
that  ‘Everyone  lacking  sufficient  resources  has  the  right  to  adequate  minimum  income 
benefits ensuring a life in dignity at all stages of life, and effective access to enabling goods 
and  services.  For  those  who  can  work,  minimum  income  benefits  should  be  combined  with 
incentives  to  (re)integrate  into  the  labour  market’.  On  4  March  2021,  the  Commission 
adopted the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, which was welcomed by the Union 
leaders at the Porto Summit on 8 May 2021. The European Council3 set 2030 headline targets 
in the areas of poverty, employment, as well as in the area of skills. By 2030, the number of 
people  at  risk  of  poverty  or  social  exclusion  should  be  reduced  by  at  least  15  million, 
including  at  least  5  million  children;  at  least  78%  of  people  aged  20  to  64  should  be  in 
employment;  and  60%  of  adults  should  participate  in  training  every  year.  In  June  2022, 
Member States presented their national targets to support this ambition. 

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political-guidelines-next-commission_en_0.pdf (europa.eu) 
People aged 0-59, living in households, where working-age adults (18-59) work less than 20% of their 
total work potential during the past year. 

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The role of social safety nets  

Social safety nets help reduce social inequalities and  disparities within Member States, 
enhancing  upward  social  convergence,  while  promoting  labour  market  integration  for 
those who can work. Well-designed social safety nets aim to guarantee that everybody has a 
sufficient  level  of  resources  to  ensure  a  life  in  dignity  and  be  able  to  participate  in  the 
economic  and  social  life,  including  the  labour  market.  They  are  particularly  important  for 
persons living in households lacking sufficient resources, meaning those having insufficient, 
irregular  or  uncertain  monetary  and  material  resources,  which  are  indispensable  for  their 
health and well-being and for social inclusion and labour market integration. For this purpose, 
social safety nets include income support and various in-kind benefits and services provided 
to those in need.   

Income support consists of a spectrum of monetary benefits addressing different needs. Such 
monetary  benefits  may  include  for  instance  child  and  family  allowances,  housing  benefits, 
unemployment benefits, disability benefits, old-age benefits or in-work benefits and also the 
minimum income benefits.  

Minimum  income  benefits4  play  a  special  role  within  overall  monetary  income  support  as 
they aim at filling the gap to reach a certain overall level of income in the a given household. 
They  are  non-contributory  and  means-tested  benefits  of  last  resort  to  households  without 
sufficient resources, when other sources of income or benefits have been exhausted or are not 
adequate to ensure a life in dignity. They are generally complemented with tailored assistance 
and incentives to access to labour market, measures fostering social inclusion and provision of 
quality  services.  In  this  way,  minimum  income  schemes  -  integrating  all  three  reinforcing 
strands  -  are  not  a  passive  tool  but  act,  as  far  as  possible,  as  a  springboard  to  improve 
inclusion and employment prospects. 

Properly designed minimum income schemes, can act as automatic stabilisers. In times of 
economic downturns, they can contribute to supporting a sustainable and inclusive recovery, 
help  mitigate  the  drop  in  household  incomes  and  contain  the  levels  of  people  at  risk  of 
poverty or social exclusion. They can also have a stabilising effect on the overall demand for 
goods  and  services.5  Well-designed  minimum  income  schemes  strike  the  right  balance 
between poverty alleviation, work incentives and sustainable budgetary costs.  

The overall level of income support should ensure a dignified life while it should always pay 
to work, and social protection systems should be fiscally sustainable. Minimum income needs 
to  be accompanied with  sufficient  incentives to  (re) enter the labour market  for people who 
can work to play their stabilising role and avoid detrimental hysteresis effects leading to lower 
employment levels. Appropriately designed minimum income, together with effective labour 
activation  measures,  can  be  an  important  tool  to  meet  the  Union’s  2030  employment  target 
and also support activation of young adults and their integration to the labour market.  

As part of their social safety nets and in addition to monetary benefits, Member States 
also  provide benefits in-kind. These include, for example, such as social  housing, reduced 
fees for certain services (e.g. public transport, gas, energy and other utility costs) or targeted 
support to cover the out-of-pocket costs of childcare or healthcare, including in maternal and 

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Minimum  income  benefits  do  not  correspond  to  universal  basic  income  which  implies  unconditional 
income support to all, without means testing or requirement to work.  
European Parliament 2010: Study 'The Role of Social Protection as Economic Stabiliser: Lessons from 
the Current Crisis'. 

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infant  healthcare. While  minimum  income beneficiaries are likely to  profit  from  those, they 
are not always integrated with minimum income and are not taken up by all minimum income 
beneficiaries.  Evidence  shows  that  the  take  up  of  some  of  these  services  (e.g.  childcare)  is 
lower for low-income households in spite of the additional support provided. 

Although  all  Member  States  have  social  safety  nets  in  place,  the  progress  in  making 
them  accessible  and  adequate  has  been  uneven.  While  the  design  varies  across  Member 
States, reflecting different national traditions and the overall architecture of social protection 
systems,  Member  States  face  similar  challenges,  as  shown  by  the  recurring  European 
Semester  country-specific  analysis  and  recommendations.  In  addition,  thematic  discussions 
under the Open Method of Coordination highlighted mutual challenges, in particular on non-
take  up  of  benefits  and  on  supporting  beneficiaries  to  participate  in  the  labour  market  and 
integrate in the society. 

Challenges 

Securing  the  adequacy  of  income  support  is  a  challenge  in  nearly  all  Member  States, 
including on account of wage developments. The adequacy can be measured by comparing 
the  overall  income  of  beneficiaries  with  the  national  poverty  threshold6  (as  an  indication  of 
the poverty alleviation effect) and with the income of a low-wage earner7 (as an indication of 
the  financial  incentives  associated  to  labour  market  participation).  While  it  varies  across 
households, both indicators provide similar results, pointing out that low wages are close to 
poverty threshold and benefits stands at even lower level. In 2019, the income of a beneficiary 
of income support (a single person) was below 80% of the poverty threshold in 22 Member 
States, while the income of a low-wage earner reached or stood above the poverty threshold in 
all Member States. For households with children, the adequacy of income support is generally 
significantly higher (on average by around 10 to 20 percentage points).  

Low  frequency  of  revisions  of  the  income  support  may  result  in  benefits  not  keeping  pace 
with  wage  developments,  rises  in  costs  of  living,  prices  or  inflation  (especially  of  food  and 
energy) and thus further eroding their adequacy. In a large number of Member States, setting 
and  uprating  the  level  of  minimum  income  benefits  is  not  based  on  a  robust  methodology, 
neither  linked  with  statistically  underpinned  reference  values  or  indicators.  Automatic 
indexation systems  that  adjust the amount of income support on a regular basis to  take into 
account changes in the costs of living is applied in around one-third of Member States.  

The adequacy of income support, and in particular of minimum income benefits has remained 
almost unchanged on average in the Union in the last decade, in spite of a slight improvement 
in the recent years. Some convergence has been observed, in particular due to new minimum 
income  schemes  introduced  in  several  Member  States.  On  the  reverse,  some  significant 

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Measured  by  at-risk-of-poverty  rate  (60%  of  median  equivalised  household  income  after  social 
transfers). 
Within the Social Protection Committee, Member States agreed on a benchmarking  framework in the 
area  of  minimum  income  benefits  for  the  working  age  population.  Three  key  policy  levers  were 
identified that are most likely to affect their performance: (1) adequacy of benefits, (2) eligibility rules 
and  take-up  of  benefits,  and  (3)  activation  and  access  to  services.  Member  States  agreed  on  two 
indicators  to  measure  the  adequacy  of  cash  income  support:  (i)  as  a  share  of  the  national  at-risk-of 
poverty  threshold  in  the  Member  State  concerned;  and  (ii)  as  a  share  of  the  income  of  a  low  wage 
earner,  defined  as  a  person  earning  50%  of  the  average  wage.  The  income  of  the  low  wage  earner  is 
used as a proxy for minimum wage, as minimum wage does not exist in all countries. 

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deterioration in terms of adequacy took place since 2009 in a number of Member States where 
rates were already below the Union average.8 

A second common challenge relates to coverage of minimum income, with around 20% 
of  jobless  people  at  risk  of  poverty  not  being  eligible  to  receive  any  income  support. 
Certain  groups  face  particular  difficulties  in  having  access  to  them.  Age  requirements  (for 
example  age  limit  is  set  higher  than  18  years  in  five  Member  States)  may  limit  access  of 
young  adults.  While  restrictions  on  nationality  have  limited  impact  on  eligibility9,  criteria 
related to the minimum length of legal residence (regulated in a few Member States, ranging 
from  one  to  ten  years)  can  limit  access  for  non-national  claimants.  Furthermore,  the 
obligations  such  as  having  permanent  address  or  a  bank  account  are  obstacles  for  homeless 
people or marginalised people living in deprived areas (e.g. Roma settlements).  

Whereas means testing is an essential element to ensure the appropriate targeting of minimum 
incomes, insufficient coverage may also arise from means testing if it is excessively severe. 
Means testing examines the resources - be it income, assets, real estate or movable property - 
of  all  household  members.  In  most  Member  States,  the  threshold  used  in  the  means  testing 
represents the maximum level of the benefit provided (and the minimum income benefits are 
used to top up the household's income to this level). In some Member States, if the threshold 
is set at a low level, means test can exclude from eligibility to minimum income an important 
number of low-income households and working poor. Furthermore, incomplete coverage may 
stem  from  a  too  stringent  design  of  the  asset  test,  generating  situations  when  a  household 
would  be  excluded  from  minimum  income  due  to  disproportionate  accounting  of  low  value 
assets10.   

Finally, benefits might not be adequately distributed among household members, as the right 
to  claim  benefits  is  limited  to  the  head  of  the  household.  In  most  countries,  women  are  not 
usually considered as heads of households unless no adult male is living permanently in the 
household11. Only in few Member States, the right to receive the benefits by individuals of the 
households  is  allowed  in  specific  cases,  while  eligibility  remains  to  be  determined  at  the 
household  level.  Without  necessarily  increasing  the  overall  level  of  benefits  received  at  the 
level  of  the  household,  solutions  facilitating  the  receipt  of  income  support  by  individual 
members  of  the  household  can  contribute  to  promoting  gender  equality  and  economic 
independence and income security of women and young adults. 

The  national  Recovery  and  Resilience  Plans  (RRPs)  under  the  Recovery  and  Resilience 
Facility envisage reforms in Member States, where challenges for the adequacy and coverage 
of minimum were identified by the country specific recommendations issued in the European 
Semester  process12.  By  way  of  example,  a  number  of  investments  focuses  on  expanding  or 
improving  the  quality  of  social  services,  fighting  energy  poverty  and  on  the  inclusion  of 
vulnerable groups. Some RRPs also aim at increasing the effectiveness and adequacy of social 
benefits, including minimum income. 

Thirdly, the non take-up of minimum income appears to be rather high in all Member 
States.  Available  estimates  of  the  non-take-up  typically  range  from  30%  to  50%  of  the 

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Joint Social Protection Committee–European Commission Report on Minimum Income (chart 27). 
In all Member States national citizens and citizens of another EU Member State (depending on general 
rules for acquiring legal residence) are eligible for minimum income.  
Such as low value inherited property or moveable assets, savings, etc. 
Source: https://eige.europa.eu/thesaurus/terms/1126 
In Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia, Spain, Romania and Bulgaria. 

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eligible  population.  This  may  be  explained  by  various  factors,  such  as  lack  of  information, 
complexity of access, lack of trust in institutions and perception of stigma. It appears that only 
a few Member States gather information on the non-take up. 

income  support  policies  and 

Fourthly,  the  coordination  between 
incentives  to 
(re)integrate  to  the  labour  market  of  those  who  can  work  remains  insufficient.  Social 
safety nets should be designed in a way that incentives to work are ensured.  In particular, the 
design of income support should not erode work incentives nor create poverty traps (or low-
wage  traps  for  people  in  work  and  in  receipt  of  income  support).  In  some  cases,  high 
withdrawal rates of minimum income benefits (also with regard to supplementary benefits) or 
high  marginal  effective  tax  rate  might  result  in  low  incentives  to  take  up  work.  While  it  is 
evident  that  income  from  work  (already  at  minimum  wage  level)  should  be  higher  than 
income  from  benefits,  other  factors  also  affect  the  rate  of  transition  of  minimum  income 
recipients  into  work  (e.g.  participation  and  quality  of  job  counselling  or  other  tailor-made 
activation measures, skills gaps, health-related issues, childcare availability, etc).  

Active  labour  market  policies  encouraging  the  transition  to  employment  include  lifelong 
learning, personalised support and guidance that meet specific needs, promoting quality jobs 
and job retention and enabling advancement, in line with the concept of the inclusive labour 
markets13.  Yet,  in  many  Member  States  these  measures  are  not  sufficiently  tailored  to 
individual needs  of beneficiaries of minimum  income  who are often  furthest  away from the 
labour market.  

While participation in activation programmes is a requirement  in most of the Member 
States, adequate measures may not even be available. Activation requirements (and related 
sanctions) need to be accompanied with supporting services such as counselling, coaching or 
job-search  assistance  to  be  more  effective  and  to  encourage  the  acceptance  of  job  offers. 
Special attention needs to be paid  to  young  adults  outside of the labour  market  or being at-
risk-of  poverty  or  social  exclusion.  To  get  them  back  into  education,  training  or  the  labour 
market  within  the  shortest  time  possible,  the  receipt  of  income  support  should  be  linked  to 
particularly  strong  activation  measures  supporting  them  in  gaining  work  experience  and 
developing  the  right  skills  for  a  changing  world  of  work,  in  particular  those  relevant  to  the 
green and digital transitions.  

Positive incentives to take up employment, supporting a  progressive transition  to the labour 
market while retaining eligibility to minimum income for certain period during employment, 
generally yield positive results. The quality and sustainability of offered jobs (i.e. long-lasting 
quality jobs) is also a challenge. Participation in public works programmes is either obligatory 
or the first resort option for the beneficiaries in around one-fourth of Member States, despite 
the  fact  that  public  works  are  generally  considered  to  have  little  or  no  impact  in  terms  of 
supporting  longer  term  transitions  to  employment.  The  role  of  the  social  economy  is 
instrumental  to  facilitate  employment  opportunities  for  minimum  income  beneficiaries. 
Employment in the social economy could be a stepping stone towards attachment to the open 
labour market. 

Fifthly,  ensuring  effective  access  to  quality  enabling  and  essential  services  is  also  a 
necessity.  While  an  exhaustive  list  of  enabling  services  cannot  be  drawn,  they  typically 
include general enabling services provided to everyone, such as early childhood education and 
care, training and education, healthcare, and long-term care. A specific category of enabling 
services,  -  social  inclusion  services  -  encompasses  services  addressing  specific  problems  of 

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See  Commission  Recommendation  2008/867/EC  on  the  active  inclusion  of  people  excluded  from  the 
labour market. 

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those  furthest  away  from  the  labour  market  to  help  them  integrate  into  society  and 
employment.  Social  inclusion  services  may  include  social  work,  counselling,  coaching, 
mentoring,  psychological  support  and  rehabilitation.  In  addition,  accessibility  and 
affordability  of  essential  services,  such  as  water,  sanitation,  energy,  transport,  financial 
services  and  digital  communications,  are  a  fundamental  prerequisite  of  any  further  social 
integration.  Although  most  of  those  services  are  in  principle  available  for  the  whole 
population,  access  and  affordability  may  be  problematic  for  people  lacking  sufficient 
resources, particularly now with current energy price hikes.  

The dramatic increase in energy prices is putting pressure on vulnerable households and risks 
causing wider social and economic harm. In these turbulent times, having solid social safety 
nets  contributes  to  mitigate  the  risk  of  energy  poverty.  In  particular,  minimum  income  and 
access  to  essential  services  can  contribute  to  mitigate  the  impacts  of  the  price  hikes  on  the 
most  vulnerable,  while  complementing  other  structural  measures.  Compared  to  price 
measures, income support measures generally allow for better targeting the support to those in 
need, and are more compatible with preserving incentives to reduce energy consumption. 

Sixthly,  persons  lacking  sufficient  resources  face  multiple  and  complex  barriers  to 
inclusion  and  thus  require  individualised  support.  Some  people  are  actively  available  to 
(re)enter  the  labour  market.  Some  others  might  not  be  (immediately)  able  to  work,  such  as 
people  with  severe  disabilities  or  health  problems,  those  lacking  basic  social  skills,  the 
homeless, or those looking after young children or dependent adults. For those people, social 
inclusion  policies  are  of  primary  importance  and  may  make  finding  a  job  easier  at  a  later 
stage.  In  order  to  provide  an  individualised  support,  most  Member  States  carry  out  multi-
dimensional  needs  assessment.  In  around  half  of  countries,  it  is  conducted  for  all  persons 
living in households lacking sufficient resources, while in a smaller group of Member States it 
is  limited  to  specific  groups  (e.g.  unemployed  for  a  specific  period)  or  is  provided  on  a 
discretionary  basis.  However,  only  around  half  of  Member  States  who  carry  out  a  multi-
dimensional  needs  assessment  offer  a  tailor-made  inclusion  plan  to  address  the  barriers  to 
social integration, and, eventually, employment. As significant proportion of beneficiaries of 
minimum  income  is  likely  to  be  long-term  unemployed,  they  are  offered  a  job  integration 
agreement,  in  line  with  the  Council  Recommendation  on  the  integration  of  the  long-term 
unemployed into the labour market14.  

Finally,  the  effective  implementation  of  robust  social  safety  nets  is  challenged  by 
governance  issues.  Key  barriers  include  insufficient  coordination  between  different  entities 
due  to  missing  standards  of  cooperation,  lack  of  information  exchange,  shortage  of  skilled 
human  capacity  and  low  resources,  including  infrastructure  in  public  employment  and 
enabling services. These limitations also pose challenges to regular monitoring and evaluation 
of the effectiveness - about half of the Member States have regular monitoring mechanisms in 
place, while in others such practice has not been established yet.  

There are more structural challenges ahead, making a case for strong social safety nets. 
The  accelerating  green  and  digital  transition  offers  a  window  of  opportunity  to  stimulate 
economic  growth  and  create  jobs.  Well-designed,  robust  social  safety  nets  can  help  fully 
realise this potential by supporting labour market transitions and more active participation of 
people  facing  disadvantage.  On  the  other  hand,  the  insufficient  coverage  by  contributory-

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Council Recommendation of 15 February 2016 on the integration of the long-term unemployed into the 
labour market (OJ C 67, 20.2.2016). 

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based benefits (including unemployment benefits and future pensions), caused by growing use 
of non-standard employment, may create additional burdens for non-contributory schemes.  

In  this  context,  social  safety  nets  and  minimum  income  in  particular  need  to  be 
modernised and adapted to foster social inclusion and to support people able to work in 
their pathways to quality employment.  

Safeguarding adequate social safety nets to protect a life in dignity has been a long-standing 
concern  of  the  Union.  In  1992,  the  Council  adopted  a  Recommendation  92/441/EEC  on 
common  criteria  concerning  sufficient  resources  and  social  assistance  in  social  protection 
systems15,  proposing  as  a  common  objective  the  establishment  of  a  minimum  level  of 
guaranteed  income  and  principles  and  guidelines  to  attain  that  objective.  The  general 
principles  of  the  framework  included  active  availability  for  work  or  vocational  training  for 
people whose age, health and family situation so allows, and economic and social integration 
measures  for  others.  The  objectives  of  that  Recommendation  were  reiterated  and  further 
reinforced  by  the  Commission  Recommendation  2008/867/EC  on  the  active  inclusion  of 
people excluded from the labour market16. 

Recognising the relevance of a Union-level policy response to address the current challenges, 
in  October  2020  the  Council  invited  the  Commission  to  initiate  an  update  of  the  Union 
framework to effectively support and complement the policies of Member States on national 
minimum  income  protection17.  In  its  Resolution18,  the  European  Parliament,  called  on 
Member  States  to  introduce  adequate  minimum  income,  highlighting  the  role  of  minimum 
income protection as a tool for fighting poverty. 

Against this background and with a view to ensure a life in dignity at all stages of life, 
this  Recommendation  aims  at  combating  poverty  and  social  exclusion  by  promoting 
adequate income support, effective access to enabling and essential services for persons 
lacking  sufficient  resources  and  fostering  labour  market  integration  of  those  who  can 
work,  as  laid  down  by  principle  14  of  the  European  Pillar  of  Social  Rights.  In  doing  so,  it 
aims at achieving a high level of employment by contributing actively to the integration to 
the  labour  market  of  those  who  can  work.  These  objectives  are  to  be  achieved  without 
prejudice to the powers of the Member States to organise their social protection systems. 

In order to reach this general objective, the specific objectives of the initiative are:  

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

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to improve the adequacy of income support; 

to improve the coverage and take-up of minimum income; 

to improve access to inclusive labour markets for those who can work; 

to improve access to enabling and essential services; 

to promote individualised support; 

Council  Recommendation 92/441/EEC on common criteria concerning sufficient resources and  social 
assistance in social protection systems (OJ L 245, 26.8.1992). 
Commission  Recommendation  2008/867/EC  of  3  October  2008  on  the  active  inclusion  of  people 
excluded from the labour market (OJ L 307, 18.11.2008). 
Council  Conclusions  of  12  October  2020  ‘Strengthening  Minimum  Income  Protection  to  Combat 
Poverty and Social Exclusion in the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond’. 
European  Parliament  resolution  of  24  October  2017  on  minimum  income  protection  as  a  tool  for 
fighting poverty (2016/2270(INI). 

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(f) 

to  increase  the  effectiveness  of  the  governance  of  social  safety  nets  at  Union, 
national, regional and local level, as well as monitoring and reporting mechanisms.  

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

The  proposal  contributes  to  the  implementation  of  principle  14  of   the  European  Pillar  of 
Social Rights and will also further other Pillar principles such as those on  “active support to 
employment”, “social protection”, “access to essential services”, “education, training and life 
long learning” and “equal opportunities”. The proposal will help achieve the headline target 
on poverty reduction, and its sub-target on child poverty, set in the European Pillar of Social 
Rights Action Plan and will support the attainment of the headline targets on employment, as 
well as the headline target on skills.  

The proposal builds upon on the Council Recommendation 92/441/EEC on common criteria 
concerning  sufficient  resources  and  social  assistance  in  social  protection  systems.  The 
proposal  is  coherent  with  the  existing  provisions  and  introduces  new  elements  where  it  has 
been considered that the Council Recommendation 92/441/EEC was insufficient and needed 
to  evolve according to  societal  changes. For  reasons of simplification, this proposal  aims to 
replace the Council Recommendation 92/441/EEC, while ensuring that the acquired level of 
protection is not diminished. 

The proposal also complements the Commission Recommendation 2008/867/EC on the active 
inclusion of people excluded from the labour market. Active inclusion strategies aim to help 
integrate  those  who  can  work  into  sustainable,  quality  employment,  and  to  provide  enough 
resources and support for living in dignity to those who cannot. This proposal builds on the 
experience and lessons learnt from the implementation of that Recommendation and offers the 
possibility to further develop its various elements and addressing the remaining gaps. 

The  proposed  initiative  builds  on  and  complements  the  ILO  Social  Protection  Floors 
Recommendation19,  which  provides  guidance  to  countries  in  extending  social  protection 
coverage by prioritising the establishment of national floors of social protection accessible to 
all in need. 

The  European  Semester  process  of  economic  and  employment  policy  coordination  has 
highlighted  structural  challenges  related  to  minimum  income  schemes  and  related  elements 
such  as  social  inclusion  and  labour  market  activation,  with  a  number  of  Member  States 
receiving  related  country  specific  recommendations.  The  revised  social  scoreboard20  tracks 
performance and trends in the Member States, enabling the Commission to monitor progress 
in addressing the country-specific recommendations. The 2022 guidelines for the employment 
policies  of  the  Member  States  state  that  social  protection  systems  should  ensure  adequate 
minimum  income  benefits  for  everyone  lacking  sufficient  resources  and  promote  social 
inclusion  by  encouraging  people  to  actively  participate  in  the  labour  market  and  society, 
including through targeted provision  of social  services.  For strengthening  analytical  work, a 
benchmarking framework was agreed in the Social Protection Committee and its results have 
been  reflected  in  the  Joint  Employment  Report,  country  reports  and  country-specific 
recommendations.  

In order to continuously gather such contextual information and facilitate mutual learning and 
exchange  of  practices  within  the  Open  Method  of  Coordination,  the  establishment  of  a 

19 
20 

The ILO Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202). 
Social scoreboard indicators - European Pillar of Social Rights - Eurostat (europa.eu) 

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network  of  national  authorities  responsible  for  minimum  incomes  (MINET)  has  allowed  a 
regular structured dialogue among Member States. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

The  initiative  is  also  complementary  to  and  consistent  with  a  number  of  other  Union 
initiatives. 

The Council Recommendation on the integration of the long-term unemployed into the labour 
market21  recommends  that  Member  States  provide  individual  support  to  long-term 
unemployed and encourage a better coordination of relevant services.  

The  Council  Recommendation  on  access  to  social  protection  for  workers  and  the  self-
employed22 aims at ensuring that all of them contribute and have formal access to effective, 
adequate and transparent social protection systems. It aims in particular at supporting people 
in  non-standard  forms  of  employment  and  self-employment  who,  due  to  their  employment 
status, are not sufficiently covered by contributory-based social security schemes and thus are 
exposed to higher economic uncertainty. 

The Directive on adequate minimum wages23 seeks to establish a framework to improve the 
adequacy  of  minimum  wages  and  to  increase  the  access  for  workers  to  minimum  wage 
protection, thereby contributing to addressing in-work poverty and low-wage traps. 

The Council Recommendation on a Bridge to Jobs – Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee24 aims 
to  ensure  that  all  young  people  under  the  age  of  30  receive  a  good  quality  offer  of 
employment,  continued  education,  an  apprenticeship  or  a  traineeship  within  4  months  of 
becoming  unemployed  or  leaving  formal  education,  thereby  preventing  their  poverty  and 
social exclusion. 

The  Council  Recommendation  establishing  a  European  Child  Guarantee25  invites  Member 
States to guarantee for children at risk of poverty or social exclusion free and effective access 
to key services crucial for their development and well-being, including through labour market 
integration measures for parents and income support to families and households. 

The  Commission  Recommendation  for  Effective  Active  Support  to  Employment  (EASE)26 
highlights  the  importance  of  developing  and  implementing  coherent  policy  packages, 
including hiring and transition incentives, upskilling and reskilling, and enhanced support by 
public employment services. 

21 

22 

23 
24 

25 

26 

Council Recommendation of 15 February 2016 on the integration of the long-term unemployed into the 
labour market (OJ C 67, 20.2.2016). 
Council Recommendation of 8 November 2019 on access to social protection for workers and the self-
employed (OJ C 387, 15.11.2019). 
Add reference once published 
Council Recommendation of 30 October 2020 on A Bridge to Jobs – Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee 
and replacing the Council Recommendation of 22 April 2013 on establishing a Youth Guarantee (OJ C 
372, 4.11.2020). 
Council  Recommendation (EU) 2021/1004 of 14 June 2021 establishing a European  Child Guarantee 
(OJ L 223, 22.6.2021). 
Recommendation  (EU)  2021/402  of  4  March  2021  on  an  effective  active  support  to  employment 
following the COVID-19 crisis (EASE) (OJ L 80, 8.3.2021). 

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The  Gender  Equality  Strategy  2019-202527  recognizes  the  higher  proportion  of  women, 
particularly older women, in poverty, due to the gender employment and pay gaps and which, 
accumulated throughout life result in a wide pension gap.  

The  EU  Roma  Strategic  Framework  and  the  Council  Recommendation  on  Roma  equality, 
inclusion  and  participation28  calls  on  Member  States  to  fight  multiple  and  structural 
discrimination against Roma, to ensure that by 2030 the majority of Roma escape poverty and 
to take stronger measures in the interrelated fields of income support, employment, healthcare 
and social services, housing and essential services. 

The Strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2021-203029 aims to ensure, amongst 
others,  that  persons  with  disabilities  can  enjoy  human  rights,  have  equal  opportunities  and 
have  equal  access  to  participate  in  society  and  economy,  as  well  as  have  adequate  social 
protection,  to  ensure  an  adequate  income  for  a  decent  standard  of  living  of  persons  with 
disabilities and their families.  

The New Skills Agenda for Europe30 lays out a comprehensive plan to ensure social fairness 
and  to  facilitate  access  to  inclusive  education  and  training  for  everybody,  including  for  the 
most vulnerable. The Council Recommendation on individual learning accounts31, adopted as 
one of the deliverables of the Skills Agenda, enables and empowers individuals to participate 
in labour-market relevant training and facilitates their access to or retention in employment. 
The proposed 2023  European Year of Skills will put  further  focus on skills, at  all  stages of 
life. 

A  Commission  Communication  entitled  ‘A  Renovation  Wave  for  Europe  -  greening  our 
buildings,  creating  jobs,  improving  lives’32 is  based  on  the  principle  of  affordability  of  the 
renovated housing and its accessibility, thus contributing to the goal of guaranteeing adequate 
housing  to  vulnerable  population,  especially  through  the  Commission  Recommendation  on 
Energy Poverty33. 

The  Council  Recommendation  on  ensuring  a  fair  transition  towards  climate  neutrality34  sets 
out  specific  guidance  to  help  Member  States  implement  policy  packages  that  ensure  a  fair 
transition towards climate neutrality in a comprehensive manner, with particular attention to 
vulnerable households. 

27  
28 

29 
30 

31 
32 

33 

34 

EUR-Lex - 52020DC0152 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu) 
Council Recommendation of 12 March 2021 on Roma equality, inclusion and participation (OJ C 93, 
19.3.2021). 
https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=8376&furtherPubs=yes 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  ‘European  Skills  Agenda  for 
sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience’, COM/2020/274 final.  
Council Recommendation of 16 June 2022 on individual learning accounts (OJ C 243, 27.6.2022). 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘A Renovation Wave for Europe  - 
greening our buildings, creating jobs, improving lives’, COM(2020) 662 final. 
Commission  Recommendation  (EU)  2020/1563  of  14  October  2020 on  ‘Energy  poverty’,  (OJ  L  357, 
27.10.2020). 
Council Recommendation of 16 June 2022 on ensuring fair transition towards climate neutrality (OJ C 
247, 27.6.2022). 

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The  REPowerEU  Plan35  calls  for  targeted  measures  to  minimize  volatility,  keep  prices  in 
check and protect the individuals in or at risk of (energy) poverty in order to ensure long-term 
benefits of a fair energy transition and a swift phase-out of Russian fossil fuels. 

A  Commission  proposal  for  a  Regulation  on  an  emergency  intervention  to  address  high 
energy  prices36  seeks  to  address  the  massive  energy  price  increases  by  reducing  electricity 
consumption  in  Member  States  and  by  sharing  the  exceptional  profits  of  energy  producers 
with those who need help the most, including vulnerable households. 

The social economy action plan37 helps social economy thrive, tapping into its economic and 
job-creation  potential,  as  well  as  its  contribution  to  a  fair  and  inclusive  recovery,  and  the 
green and digital transitions. 

This proposal contributes to the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The proposed recommendation is based on Article 292 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the 
European  Union  (TFEU)  as  the  procedural  legal  basis  in  combination  with  Article  153(1) 
point (j) TFEU as the substantial legal basis.  

Article 153(1)(j) allows the Union to support and complement the activities of Member States 
in  the  field  of  combating  social  exclusion.  The  proposal  will  contribute  to  this  objective 
through promoting income support at a level allowing to have a life in dignity, combined with 
effective  access  to  enabling  and  essential  services  and  measures  supporting  labour  market 
integration of those who can work. 

Using  the  substantial  basis  of  Article  153(1)(j),  is  limited,  firstly,  by  Article  153(2)(a)  as  it 
allows only measures designed to encourage cooperation between Member States, excluding 
any harmonisation of the laws and regulations. 

Further  under  Article  153(4)  all  provisions  adopted  pursuant  to  Article  153  require  that  the 
Recommendation  (i)  does  not  affect  the  right  of  Member  States  to  define  fundamental 
principles  of  their  social  protection  systems;  (ii)  does  not  significantly  affect  the  financial 
equilibrium of these systems.  

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

Employment  and  social  protection  policy  remain  primarily  a  responsibility  of  the  Member 
States, in line with principle of subsidiarity.  

Starting  with  the  Council  Recommendation  92/441/EEC  and  the  Council  Recommendation 
92/442/EEC on the convergence of social protection objectives and policies38, the Union has 

35  

36 

37 

38 

COM/2022/230 final, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European 
Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 
REPowerEU Plan. 
Proposal  for  a  Council  Regulation  on  an  emergency  intervention  to  address  high  energy  prices, 
COM(2022) 473 final. 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘Building an economy that works 
for people: an action plan for the social economy’, COM(2021) 778 final. 
Council  Recommendation  92/442/EEC  of  27  July  1992  on  the  convergence  of  social  protection 
objectives and policies (No L 245 / 49). 

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taken action in the area of social protection, building on a consensus that the deepening single 
market  should  be  complemented  by  social  solidarity  and  convergence  in  social  protection 
policies between the Member States.  

While  all  Member  States  have  adopted  reforms  in  the  area  of  minimum  income,  evidence 
shows  that  there  is  scope  for  improvement  in  most  of  the  Member  States  to  address  the 
identified challenges in an integrated way. Gaps in the effective delivery of minimum income 
and labour market activation measures increase risks to the welfare of the affected individuals 
and their families who endure greater economic uncertainty and reduces overall employment 
levels in the economy. The problem of inadequate income support and insufficient access to 
supporting  services  for  a  considerable  share  of  population  has  negative  consequences  on 
social  fairness  and  sustainable  growth.  Persistent  inactivity  and  remaining  remote  from  the 
labour  market  leads  to  skills  erosion  and  lead  to  a  lower-quality  and  less-productive 
workforce.  This  is  a  strong  driver  of  social  exclusion  and  poverty  and  an  obstacle  to  the 
achievement  of  the  2030  headline  targets.  As  shown  in  the  Staff  Working  Document 
accompanying the proposal,  the target  on poverty  reduction is unlikely to be reached in the 
coming  years  unless  Member  States  strengthen  their  social  protection  and  social  inclusion 
systems,  while  the  employment  target  requires  more  effective  labour  market  activation 
policies. 

Given the risk of non-action (or insufficient action), in view of the past trends and the social 
challenges ahead and the potential mutual learning among Member States, the Union is well 
placed to step up efforts and take the lead, while respecting Member States’ competences in 
the area of social protection. The Union action can help ensure that all Member States move 
in  the  same  direction  at  the  same  time,  promoting  upward  convergence  within  and  between 
Member States, resulting in more equitable and cohesive societies. 

• 

Proportionality 

Measures proposed in  this Recommendation are  proportional  to  the pursued objectives. The 
proposal supports social safety nets and minimum income already existing in Member States 
and complements Member States’ efforts in the area of combating social exclusion and labour 
market  integration  of  disadvantaged  individuals.  The  proposed  action  respects  Member 
States’  practices  and  the  diversity  of  their  social  protection  systems.  It  recognises  that 
different  national,  regional  or  local  situations  could  lead  to  differences  in  how  the 
Recommendation  is  implemented  and  allows  Member  States  to  make  use  of  the 
Recommendation according to their specific context. Proportionality also played a key role in 
guiding the choice of the instrument. 

• 

Choice of the instrument 

The instrument is a proposal for a Council Recommendation, which respects the principles of 
subsidiarity and proportionality. It builds on the existing body of the Union law and is in line 
with the type of instruments available for Union action in the areas of employment and social 
policy. A Council Recommendation will provide Member States with specific guidance on the 
reform pathway, whilst leaving to discretion of Member States the adaptation of measures to 
national institutions and delivery models. It lays down measures to be considered by Member 
States  and  provides  a  strong  basis  for  cooperation  at  Union  level  in  this  area,  while  fully 
respecting Member States competence in the relevant policy fields. Once adopted, the Council 
Recommendation 92/441/EEC will be replaced by this Recommendation.   

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3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

In  1999  the  Commission  submitted  a  report  on  the  implementation  of  the  Council 
Recommendation 92/441/EEC39. The report confirmed the essential role of minimum income 
as a final safety net mechanism. It concluded that the Recommendation had helped to organise 
and  stimulate  the  debate  between  the  Member  States  on  the  role  and  development  of 
minimum income and that it had fostered convergence across the Member States. The report 
stated that notable differences remain in the way minimum incomes function; to what extent 
and for how long they cover essential needs and how they are linked with other measures of 
social and employment support.  

In 2013, the Commission reviewed the implementation of the Commission Recommendation 
2008/867/EC40. The  assessment  confirmed the validity of the  active inclusion  approach, but 
acknowledged that progress in implementing it at national level had been relatively limited. It 
highlighted  specific  challenges  related  to  the  three  active  inclusion  strands,  such  as:  (i)  low 
adequacy, lack of take-up and limited coverage of income support, (ii) in-work poverty and 
potential disincentives arising from tax and benefits systems and (iii) a problematic access to 
quality services in a number of Member States, notably for Roma, migrants and people with 
disabilities.  Furthermore,  coordination  challenges  at  local  level  and  scattered  competencies 
across policy levels hampered the implementation. 

Another review of progress in implementing the Commission Recommendation 2008/867/EC 
was  carried  out  in  201741.  The  findings  of  that  assessment  underlined  the  importance  of 
integrated  and  comprehensive  policy  measures  for  disadvantaged  people.  They  called  for  a 
sharper  focus  on  adequate  support  for  the  social  inclusion  of  people  who  cannot  work  and 
highlighted the need for close cooperation among stakeholders and the active involvement of 
all relevant partners.  

The results of those assessments have been taken into consideration during the preparation of 
this proposal.  

• 

Stakeholder consultations 

The Commission carried out stakeholder consultations over two periods. Between 14 January 
and  30  November  2020,  the  Commission  carried  out  public  consultation  on  the  European 
Pillar of Social Rights  Action  Plan  (including on  principle 14)42 that contributed to shaping 
the  content  if  this  proposal.  Furthermore,  between  5  January  and  5  May  in  2022,  the 
Commission  carried  out  targeted  consultations  on  the  initiative  itself.  Those  consultations, 
mainly  thematic  debates,  took  place  with  social  partners,  civil  society  organisations,  the 
Social  Protection  Committee  and  the  Employment  Committee,  the  European  Economic  and 

39 

40 

41 

42 

Report  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament,  the  Economic  and  Social 
Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  on  the  implementation  of  the  Recommendation 
91/441/EEC of 24 June 1992 on common criteria concerning sufficient resources and social assistance 
in social protection systems (COM(1998) 774 final). 
Commission Staff Working Document Follow-up on the implementation by the Member States of the 
2008  European  Commission  recommendation  on  active  inclusion  of  people  excluded  from  the  labour 
market – Towards a social investment approach, SWD(2013) 39 final. 
Commission  Staff  Working  Document  on 
the  2008  Commission 
the 
Recommendation on the active inclusion of people excluded from the labour market, SWD(2017) 257 
final. 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  The  European  Pillar  of  Social 
Rights Action Plan, SWD(2021)46 final.  

implementation  of 

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Social Committee, the European Network of Public Employment Services, the Committee of 
the  Regions,  young  people,  researchers  and  academia.  All  stakeholders  could  participate  in 
the  call  for  evidence,  on  which  75  individual  contributions  and  33  position  papers  were 
submitted,  mainly  from  civil  society,  citizens,  as  well  as  from  business  associations, 
academia, trade unions and public authorities.  

The majority of the stakeholders was supportive of a Union initiative aimed at strengthening 
the  current  framework.  Many  of  them  reiterated  that  minimum  incomes  are  interconnected 
with other support measures and as such should be seen as a part of broader social protection 
systems, which are designed and implemented at national level. A Council Recommendation 
providing Union-level guidance, while leaving the implementation to the Member States, was 
generally  mentioned  as  the  best-suited  instrument.  Most  of  the  stakeholders  reiterated  the 
importance  of  an  empowering  active  inclusion  approach,  comprising  income  support, 
inclusive labour markets, social inclusion and access to quality services. For the approach to 
be  effective,  adequate  governance  system  should  support  cooperation  of  different  actors  on 
vertical  and  horizontal  levels.  To  this  end,  many  stakeholders  reiterated  the  importance  of 
local actors, including service providers and civil society organisations and recommended that 
these actors become part of the governance systems. On adequacy, most of the stakeholders 
agreed that the level of income support should be set at or above national poverty threshold to 
ensure a life in dignity. Most of the stakeholders pointed to the need of a robust monitoring 
systems to support an effective implementation of the Recommendation.  

• 

Collection and use of expertise 

The evidence base to underpin the initiative includes:  

 

 

 

 

 

An exploratory study to support the Staff Working Document entitled “Filling in the 
knowledge gaps and identifying strengths and challenges in the effectiveness of the 
EU  Member  States’  minimum  income  schemes”.  The  aim  of  the  study  was  to:  (i) 
collect  data  on  national  minimum  income  across  the  Union;  (ii)  identify  strengths 
and challenges of the effectiveness of minimum income; and (iii) assess the impacts 
of different measures aimed at enhancing their effectiveness, including activation and 
access to services. 

Modelling of impacts of selected policy options in the provision of adequate income 
support carried out by the Joint Research Centre. 

A  benchmarking  framework  on  minimum  income  agreed  in  the  Social  Protection 
Committee  that  identified  three  policy  levers  most  likely  to  affect  performance  of 
minimum  income:  (i)  adequacy  of  benefits,  (ii)  eligibility  rules  and  take-up  of 
benefits,  and  (iii)  activation  measures  and  access  to  services.  The  framework 
identified a selection of outcome, performance and policy lever indicators, including 
a  twofold  indicator  for  adequacy  of  monetary  income  support:  (i)  as  a  share  of  the 
national  at-risk-of  poverty  threshold  in  the  Member  State  concerned;  and  (ii)  as  a 
share of the income of a low wage earner, defined as a person earning 50 % of the 
average wage.  

Based  on  the  benchmarking  framework,  the  joint  report  of  the  Social  Protection 
Committee  and  the  Commission  provides  an  overview  of  the  state  of  play  on 
minimum income. 

The  Social  Protection  Performance  Monitor  (SPPM),  which  identifies  annual  key 
social  trends  to  watch  across  the  Union  and  key  social  challenges  and  good  social 
outcomes within individual Member States. 

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• 

Impact assessment 

The proposed instrument – a Council Recommendation –gives Member States enough leeway 
to determine how to best achieve the objectives of this initiative, taking into account national, 
regional or local  circumstances. Since potential impact depend on concrete actions taken by 
Member States, a fully-fledged impact assessment cannot fully assess expected impact before 
implementation choices by Member States are made.  

The  accompanying  Staff  Working  Document  includes  an  overview  of  the  most  important 
challenges with regard to the performance of minimum income. It also includes an analysis of 
impact of possible policy reforms on poverty reduction. 

• 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

Not applicable.  

• 

Fundamental rights 

The  proposal  will  contribute  to  safeguarding  the  right  to  life  to  dignity  (Article  1  of  the 
Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  European  Union,  the  ‘Charter’),  to  social  security 
benefits and social services, to social and housing assistance and to decent existence of those 
who lack sufficient resources (Article 34 of the Charter).   

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

Not applicable.  

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

Member States will regularly report to the Commission on the progress in implementation of 
this  Recommendation.  The  Recommendation  also  establishes  a  period  for  a  progressive 
implementation,  by  end-2030,  of  the  provision  relevant  to  the  adequacy  of  income  support. 
The  progress  reports  should  be  discussed  within  the  Social  Protection  Committee,  in  close 
cooperation  with  the  Employment  Committee  and  the  network  of  Public  Employment 
Services with regard to the access to inclusive labour markets.  

Based  on  the  national  progress  reports,  regular  joint  reports  of  the  Social  Protection 
Committee and the Commission will be delivered at  the Union level. The Commission  will 
also regularly monitor the Recommendation’s implementation in the context of the European 
Semester and issues country-specific recommendations, as appropriate.  

The  Commission  also  aims  to  work  jointly  with  the  Social  Protection  Committee  to  further 
develop  the  benchmarking  framework  on  minimum  income  schemes  to  underpin  the 
monitoring  of  this  Recommendation  and  to  enhance  the  availability  and  comparability  of 
relevant indicators.  

The Commission aims to review actions taken in response to the proposed Recommendation, 
in  particular  with  regard  to  their  impact  on  the  reduction  of  poverty  and  social  exclusion, 
increasing employment and improving skills, and report to the Council by 2032. On the basis 
of the results of the review, the Commission may consider making further proposals. 

• 

Explanatory documents (for directives) 

Not applicable.  

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• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal  

Paragraph 1 indicates the objective of this Recommendation.  

Paragraph  2  contains  definitions,  which  are  to  be  applied  for  the  purpose  of  the 
Recommendation. 

Paragraph  3  recommends  Member  States  to  develop  robust  social  safety  nets  through  an 
integrated approach  which combines income support, incentives and support to (re)integrate 
in the labour market and access to services. 

Paragraph  4  to  7  recommend  Member  States  ensure  the  adequacy  of  income  support  by 
defining  a  transparent  methodology  for  setting  and  reviewing  the  level  of  income  support, 
proposing  reference  values  to  guide  the  assessment  of  adequacy  and  recommending  annual 
adjustments  of  income  support.  Specifically,  Paragraph  6  invites  Member  States  to 
progressively achieve the adequacy of income support by 31 December 2030 at the latest. 

Paragraph 8 recommends to Member States to provide for a possibility to request the income 
support to be provided to individual members of the household, without necessarily increasing 
the overall level of benefits received by the household. 

Paragraph 9 recommends  to  Member States to ensure  a comprehensive  coverage of persons 
lacking  sufficient  resources  by  minimum  income,  through  inter  alia  non-discriminatory 
eligibility criteria and proportionate means testing;  

Paragraph 10 recommends to Member States to encourage full take-up of minimum income, 
including through simplifying the application procedure, reducing administrative barriers and 
providing accessible information to the potential recipients;  

Paragraph  11  recommends  to  Member  States  to  ensure  appropriate  incentives  for  minimum 
income  recipients  to  (re)integrate  in  the  labour  market,  and  ensure  inclusive  labour  markets 
and  high  employment  rates,  including  through  investments  in  human  capital  and  skills, 
safeguarding incentives to work, supporting employers and facilitating working opportunities 
in the social economy sector; 

Paragraph 12 recommends Member States to ensure effective access to enabling and essential 
services  by  safeguarding  continuity  of  access  to  essential  services  (including  energy)  and 
addressing barriers to access to the services; 

Paragraph  13  recommends  Member  States  to  develop  individualized  approaches  to  address 
various  barriers  to  social  inclusion  and  employment  faced  persons  lacking  sufficient 
resources.  

Paragraph  14  to  15  recommend  Member  States  to  put  in  place  effective  governance  and 
monitoring systems and to report regularly to the Commission on the implementation of the 
Recommendation; 

Paragraph 16 invites  the  Commission to  work  further with the  Social Protection  Committee 
on the benchmarking framework on minimum income schemes and to enhance the availability 
and  comparability  of  relevant  data.  It  also  recommends  the  Commission  and  the  Social 
Protection Committee to regularly review the progress in implementing the Recommendation 
and to report to the Council by 2032. 

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2022/0299 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION 

On adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 292, in conjunction with Article 153(1), point (j) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1)  With a view to ensure a life in dignity at all stages of life, this Recommendation aims 
at combatting poverty and social exclusion and at pursuing high levels of employment 
by promoting adequate income support and effective access to enabling and essential 
services  for  persons  lacking  sufficient  resources  and  by  fostering  labour  market 
integration of those who can work.  

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Pursuant  to  Article  151  TFEU,  the  Union  and  the  Member  States  have  as  their 
objectives,  amongst  others,  the  promotion  of  employment,  improved  living  and 
working conditions, proper social protection and the combating of social exclusion.  

Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’) 
recognises and respects the entitlements to social security benefits and social services. 
The Charter also provides that everyone residing and moving legally within the Union 
is entitled to social security benefits and social advantages and that, in order to combat 
social exclusion and poverty, the Union recognises and respects the right to social and 
housing  assistance  to  ensure  a  decent  existence  for  all  those  who  lack  sufficient 
resources.  

Council  Recommendation  92/441/EEC  of  24  June  1992  on  common  criteria 
concerning  sufficient  resources  and  social  assistance  in  social  protection  systems43 
calls on Member States to recognise the basic right of a person to sufficient resources 
and social assistance to live in a manner compatible with human dignity  as part of a 
comprehensive  and  consistent  drive  to  combat  social  exclusion,  and  recommends  to 
adapt  their  social  protection  systems,  as  necessary.  In  view  of  the  content  of  this 
Recommendation, it is appropriate to replace Recommendation 92/441/EEC.  

Commission Recommendation 2008/867/EC of 3 October 2008 on the active inclusion 
of  people  excluded  from  the  labour  market44  sets  out  a  comprehensive  strategy  to 
facilitate the integration into sustainable, quality employment of those who can work 
and to provide resources which are sufficient to live in dignity, together with support 
for  social  participation,  for  those  who  cannot.  This  integrated  approach,  based  on  a 
combination  of  three  policy  strands:  adequate  income  support,  inclusive  labour 

43 

44 

Council  Recommendation  92/441/EEC  of  24  June  1992  on  common  criteria  concerning  sufficient 
resources and social assistance in social protection systems (OJ L 245, 26.8.1992). 
Commission  Recommendation  2008/867/EC  of  3  October  2008  on  the  active  inclusion  of  people 
excluded from the labour market (OJ L 307, 18.11.2008). 

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(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

markets  and  access  to  quality  services,  is  particularly  important  for  persons  furthest 
away from the labour market or excluded from society.  

In  November  2017,  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission 
proclaimed  the  European  Pillar  of Social  Rights,  setting  out  20  principles  to  support 
well-functioning and fair labour markets and welfare systems. Principle 14 states that 
‘Everyone  lacking  sufficient  resources  has  the  right  to  adequate  minimum  income 
benefits ensuring a life in dignity at all stages of life, and effective access to enabling 
goods  and  services.  For  those  who  can  work,  minimum  income  benefits  should  be 
combined with incentives to (re)integrate into the labour market’. 
The  European  Pillar  of  Social  Rights  Action  Plan45  (‘the  Action  Plan’)  sets  out  the 
ambition for a strong social Union. In June 2021, the European Council, in line with 
the  Porto  Declaration46,  welcomed  the  Union  social  target  on  poverty  whereby  the 
number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion should be reduced by at least 
15 million47 by 2030, including at least 5 million children. The European Council also 
welcomed the headline targets on employment, of at least 78% of people aged 20 to 64 
in employment,  and skills, of at least 60% of all adults should participate in training 
every  year.  In  June  2022,  Member  States  presented  their  national  targets.  A  revised 
social scoreboard and a benchmarking framework on minimum income, agreed by the 
Social Protection Committee, strengthen the analytical underpinning of the European 
Semester, the Joint Employment Report and the country-specific recommendations.   

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its supportive goals underline that 
sustainable economic growth needs to go hand in hand with an eradication of poverty 
and  other  deprivations,  a  reduction  of  inequalities  and  improved  access  to  health, 
education and employment. 
The European Parliament, in its Resolution of 24 October 201748, called on Member 
States  to  introduce  adequate  minimum  income,  highlighting  the  role  of  minimum 
income  protection  as  a  tool  for  fighting  poverty.  In  its  conclusions  of  12  October 
202049,  the  Council  invited  the  Commission  to  initiate  an  update  of  the  Union 
framework  to  effectively  support  and  complement  the  policies  of  Member  States  on 
national minimum income protection. During the Conference on the Future of Europe, 
citizens called for a common Union framework on minimum income.50   

(10)  This  Recommendation  builds  on  the  findings  of  the  Commission  assessments51 
the  Commission 
the 
reviewing 
in 
Recommendation 2008/867/EC. The assessments confirmed the validity of the active 
inclusion approach, but highlighted specific challenges related, amongst others, to low 

the  progress  achieved 

implementation  of 

45 

46 
47 
48 

49 

50 
51 

Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  ‘The  European  Pillar  of  Social 
Rights Action Plan’ (COM/2021/102 final). 
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2021/05/08/the-porto-declaration/ 
Compared to 2019. 
European  Parliament  resolution  of  24  October  2017  on  minimum  income  protection  as  a  tool  for 
fighting poverty (2016/2270(INI). 
Council  Conclusions  of  12  October  2020  ‘Strengthening  Minimum  Income  Protection  to  Combat 
Poverty and Social Exclusion in the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond’. 
Conference on the Future of Europe, report on the final outcome, May 2022, p. 58. 
Commission Staff Working Document Follow-up on the implementation by the Member States of the 
2008  European  Commission  recommendation  on  active  inclusion  of  people  excluded  from  the  labour 
market  –  Towards  a  social  investment  approach,  SWD(2013)  39  final.  Commission  Staff  Working 
Document on the implementation of the 2008 Commission Recommendation on the active inclusion of 
people excluded from the labour market, SWD(2017) 257 final. 

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adequacy,  limited  take-up  and  narrow  coverage  of  minimum  income,  potential 
disincentives arising from tax and benefit systems and a problematic access to quality 
services fostering social inclusion and labour market integration. They also called for a 
sharper focus on adequate support for social inclusion of people who cannot work.  

(11)  Despite some progress achieved in the reduction of poverty and social exclusion in the 
Union in the last decade, in 2021, over 95.4 million people still remained at risk and 
the  risk  was  higher  for  women  than  for  men.  Increase  in  the  poverty  risk  for  people 
living  in  (quasi)jobless  households  and  a  worsening  in  the  depth  and  persistence  of 
poverty  in  many  Member  States,  accompanied  by  declines  in  the  impact  of  social 
transfers on poverty reduction, rise concerns. The Union and its Member States should 
do  more  to  help  the  most  vulnerable  and  disadvantaged  people  and  do  it  more 
efficiently.  

(12)  Quality  and  sustainable  employment  is  the  best  way  out  of  poverty  and  social 
exclusion.  At  the  same  time,  ensuring  that  more  people  are  in  the  labour  market 
contributes to  the financing of social protection systems  and enhances their financial 
intergenerational  fairness  and  promoting  social 
sustainability,  contributing 
cohesion.  To  achieve  higher  employment  levels,  it  is  of  paramount  importance  to 
support people in successful labour market transitions.   

to 

(13)  The  social  and  economic  advantages  of  adequate  and  targeted  social  safety  nets 
became  even  more  important  during  the  lockdowns  linked  to  the  COVID-19 
pandemic.  Containment  measures  had  a  disproportionate  impact  on  women  and 
disadvantaged groups, notably in terms of access to healthcare, both for physical and 
mental  health  reasons,  education  and  relevant  services,  also  aggravating  pre-existing 
limitations  in  access  to  employment52.  The  lessons  learnt  from  the  crisis  also 
highlighted the importance of adequate, comprehensive and resilient social protection 
systems that are shock-responsive, preventive instruments to support recovery. 

(14)  Macroeconomic trends associated with globalisation, the green and digital transitions, 
demographic  change  and  changing  patterns  of  work  continue  to  shape  the  Union. 
Comprehensive and robust  social safety nets,  which ensure  adequate income support 
and facilitate labour market transitions, including support for reskilling and upskilling, 
can help that those processes are just and inclusive. Changes in career patterns, paired 
with an increase of non-standard forms of employment, can make it more difficult for 
low-income people to qualify to access insurance-based social protection systems and 
can lead to  an increased demand for  alternative  support measures, such  as  minimum 
income. Moreover, following Russia’s unjustified and illegal war of aggression against 
Ukraine, the sharp increase in energy prices and subsequently in inflation is affecting 
low-  and  lower  middle-income  households.  Income  measures  can  be  targeted  to 
vulnerable  groups  and  are  compatible  with  preserving  incentives  to  reduce  energy 
demand and improve energy efficiency. 

(15)  The  focus  of  this  Recommendation  is  on  ‘persons  lacking  sufficient  resources’ 
meaning  persons  living  in  households  with  insufficient,  irregular  or  uncertain 
monetary  and  material  resources,  which  are  indispensable  for  their  health  and  well-
being  and  for  participating  in  the  economic  and  social  life.  For  those  able  to  work, 
robust  social  safety  nets  must  facilitate  (re)integration  in  the  labour  market  through 
active  labour  market  measures,  support  in  job  seeking,  education  and  training.  For 
everyone  in  need,  including  those  who  cannot  work,  they  ensure  adequate  income 
support and enabling services. Thus, social safety nets are not a passive tool but act, as 

52 

Joint Employment Report 2022. 

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far  as  possible,  as  a  springboard  for  socio-economic  integration  and  upward  social 
mobility, improving inclusion and employment prospects.  

(16)  Social safety nets include an array of monetary and in-kind benefits providing income 
support  and  access  to  enabling  and  essential  services.  An  important  component  of 
income support are minimum income benefits, defined as a non-contributory monetary 
benefits  of  last  resort  aiming  at  filling  the  gap  to  reach  a  certain  overall  level  of 
income  in  a  given  household  when  other  sources  of  income  or  benefits  have  been 
exhausted  or  are  not  adequate  to  ensure  a  life  in  dignity.  Income  support  may  also 
include other monetary benefits such as child and family allowances, housing benefits, 
unemployment benefits, disability benefits, old-age benefits or in-work benefits. It can 
also top up minimum pensions and income from work.  

(17)  Minimum income is a key element of strategies to exit poverty and exclusion and can 
act  as  an  automatic  stabiliser.  In  times  of  economic  crisis,  it  can  contribute  to 
supporting  a  sustainable  and  inclusive  recovery,  help  mitigate  the  drop  in  household 
incomes  and  contain  the  levels  of  people  at  risk  of  poverty  or  social  exclusion.  For 
those who can work, minimum income comprises adequate incentives and tailored and 
proportionate  conditionality  to  (re)integrate  in  the  labour  market.  At  the  same  time, 
minimum  income  should  be  designed  alongside  with  work  incentives  to  avoid 
hysteresis effects in the labour market and to support high employment levels.  

(18) 

In-kind benefits can provide targeted support for persons lacking sufficient resources 
to facilitate their access to specific services such early childhood education and care, 
in  accordance  with  Council  Recommendation  establishing  a  European  Child 
Guarantee53, healthcare and long-term care, social housing, employment and training.  

(19)  Doing  more  to  implement  integrated,  robust  social  safety  nets  has  the  potential  not 
only  to  improve  the  social  and  health  outcomes  for  those  furthest  from  the  labour 
market,  but  also  to  deliver lasting social  and economic benefits  for the  Union,  boost 
economic, social and territorial cohesion and result in more equitable and cohesive and 
resilient  societies.  Continued  efforts  are  needed  to  improve  access  of  low-income 
people  to  the  insurance-based  social  protection  system  to  help  them  acquire  social 
protection  rights,  particularly  through  facilitating  quality  employment,  and  to 
coordinate the provision of income support under the respective schemes. These safety 
nets  should  also  help  increase  access  to  health  care  and  healthy  food  for  those  in 
poverty. Member States should seek to raise the effectiveness  and  efficiency of their 
social  protection  systems,  including  in  supporting  access  to  the  labour  market,  as  a 
whole to prevent that people fall into poverty or need to rely on minimum income in 
the longer run.  

(20)  Although all Member States have social safety nets  in  place, the progress  in  making 
them  accessible  and  adequate  has  been  uneven.  The  design  varies  across  Member 
States,  reflecting  different  national  traditions  and  the  overall  architecture  of  social 
protection  systems,  but  Member  States  face  similar  challenges.  While  some 
convergence  has  taken  place,  the  reforms  adopted  so  far  have  not  always  been 
sufficient  or  their  implementation  has  been  slow,  as  reflected  by  relevant  long-
standing country-specific recommendations issued in the European Semester process. 
The  national  plans  under  the  Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility  envisage  support  to 
reforms  and  investments  in  the  concerned  Member  States  to  strengthen  the 
effectiveness,  design  and  resilience  of  their  social  protection  systems,  including 

53 

Council  Recommendation (EU) 2021/1004 of 14 June  2021 establishing a European  Child Guarantee 
(OJ L 223, 22.6.2021). 

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(21) 

through improving the design of minimum income and ensuring upward convergence 
in  its  adequacy  and  coverage.  Several  investments  also  focus  on  fighting  energy 
poverty and on improving access to essential services for the vulnerable households. 

Income support is considered adequate when it ensures a life in dignity at all stages of 
life. A sound and transparent methodology for setting and adjusting income support at 
regular  intervals,  informed  by  relevant  indicators  and  accounting  for  household’s 
specific  needs,  is  necessary  to  ensure  adequacy  of  the  overall  income  support. 
Reference  values,  such  as  the  national-at-risk-of  poverty  threshold  or  methodologies 
based on a nationally defined basket of goods and services reflecting the cost of living 
in  a  given  Member  State  or  a  region,  can  help  guide  the  adequacy  assessment. 
Adequacy can also be benchmarked against income from work, such as the income of 
a low-wage  earner or  a  minimum  wage earner.  While it is  evident that income from 
work  (already  at  minimum  wage  level)  should  be  higher  than  income  from  benefits, 
there  is  no  evidence  of  significant  negative  impact  on  average  on  the  probability  to 
find  a  job  for  people  receiving  minimum  income  support.  Given  the  disparities  in 
adequacy  across  countries,  Member  States  should  achieve  adequate  levels  of  the 
overall income support in a progressive manner. Benefits need to be kept in line with 
inflation  (especially  of  food  and  energy),  rises  in  the  costs  of  living  and  wage 
developments.  

(22)  Eligibility criteria of minimum income may be a barrier to access by certain groups. In 
principle children are covered as a part of the household. However the age threshold 
set for claimants higher than 18 years may limit access for young adults. Restrictions 
related  to  the  minimum  length  of  legal  residence  can  limit  access  for  non-nationals, 
while  the  lack  of  permanent  address  makes  it  difficult  to  benefit  from  minimum 
income  by  homeless  people  or  people  living  in  deprived  areas  (e.g.  in  Roma 
settlements). Whereas means testing is an essential element to ensure the appropriate 
targeting of minimum income, insufficient coverage may also arise when a threshold 
for the maximum total value of income and assets during means testing is set at a low 
level, thereby excluding some households even if they are poor.  

(23)  Gaps in the coverage by minimum income should be addressed and the continuity of 
coverage over different phases of life should be ensured by putting in place transparent 
and non-discriminatory access criteria. Age, the existence of permanent address or the 
requirement  of  disproportionally  long  legal  residence  should  not  form  a  barrier  to 
access  minimum  income.  The  thresholds  for  means  testing  should  reflect  a  life  in 
dignity  for  different  types  and  sizes  of  households  in  a  given  Member  State.  Low 
earnings  from  work  (such  as  one-off  or  irregular  incomes)  should  be  treated 
proportionally  in  the  means  testing  in  a  way  that  safeguards  incentives  to  work  and 
does  not  exclude  claimants  from  drawing  (possibly  lower)  benefits.  Access  to 
minimum income needs to be granted swiftly and the entitlement should be unlimited 
provided  the  claimants  continue  to  meet  the  eligibility  criteria,  subject  to  periodical 
reviews. 

(24) 

In  times  of  economic  downturns,  flexibility  in  the  design  of  minimum  income, 
including through temporarily simplified access, can play an important role to mitigate 
the  adverse  social  consequences  and  play  a  stabilising  role  in  the  economy.  Fiscal 
consolidation  measures  that  result  in  the  reduction  of  protection  levels  rather  than 
improving the effectiveness of the schemes should only be used as last resort option, 
accompanied by a distributional impact assessment to mitigate adverse effects on the 
most disadvantaged. 

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(25)  Disproportionate administrative burden, lack of awareness or fear of stigmatisation or 
discrimination  may  cause  that  those  eligible  for  minimum  income  do  not  request 
access  to  it.  Avoiding  fragmented  schemes,  ensuring  overall  accessibility  and 
simplicity  of  the  application  procedures  and  offering  administrative  support  to  the 
potential claimants can increase the take-up of minimum income. Further measures are 
income  by single-parent  households, 
needed 
predominantly  headed  by  women.  In  addition,  outreach  efforts  should  target  in 
particular  socially  deprived  areas  and  the  most  marginalised  households,  including 
Roma.  The  low  accessibility  of  digital  tools  or  lack  of  skills  for  their  use  can  also 
constitute a barrier to effective access, including for persons with disabilities. Regular 
monitoring  and  analysis  of  relevant  data  can  help  understand  the  causes  of  the  non-
take-up and improve policy response.  

take  up  of minimum 

to  ensure 

(26)  While means-testing is done at household level, it often does not take into account the 
position  of individuals  within  the  household,  potential  unequal  sharing  of  family 
incomes  and  the  desire  for  autonomy.  This  particularly  affects  women  as  they  are 
more  likely  to  have  lower  incomes,  lower  pay  and  greater  caring  responsibilities. 
Without necessarily increasing the overall level of benefits received by the household,   
solutions  facilitating  the  receipt  of  income  support  by  individual  members  of  the 
household  can  contribute  to  gender  equality  and  to  economic  independence  and 
income security of women and young adults.   

(27)  Strengthening inclusive labour markets accessible for all is important to mitigate long-
term dependence on income support. Activation requirements and active labour market 
policies  can  encourage  higher  job-search  efforts  and  acceptance  of  job  offers,  when 
including supporting services such as counselling, coaching and job-search assistance 
and measures to ensure work-life balance. In line with Council Recommendation on a 
Bridge  to  Jobs  –  Reinforcing  the  Youth  Guarantee54,  particular  attention  should  be 
devoted to young adults at the risk of poverty or social exclusion by getting them back 
into education, training  or the labour market  within  the shortest  time possible,  while 
the  receipt  of  income  support  should  be  linked  to  particularly  strong  activation 
measures.  In  line  with  the  Strategy  for  the  Rights  for  people  with  Disabilities, 
particular  attention  should  also  be  given  to  the  needs  of  persons  with  disabilities. 
Upskilling  and  reskilling  opportunities,  personalised  support  and  guidance  that  meet 
specific  needs,  ensuring  quality  jobs,  promoting  job  retention  and  enabling 
advancement  can  support  the  transition  to  employment  across  all  ages.  Regular 
reviews of incentives and disincentives resulting from tax and benefit systems, gradual 
phasing  out  of  income  support  upon  taking  up  employment  or  the  possibility  to 
combine it with earnings can increase the disposable income of the household, thereby 
contributing to making  work pay, reducing in-work poverty and incentivising formal 
employment.  At  the  same  time,  in-work  benefits  need  to  be  carefully  designed  to 
avoid low-wage traps.  

(28)  Employment in the social economy could be a stepping stone towards other sectors of 
the labour market. Facilitating transition to employment should be supported through 
the provision of dedicated measures to employers, accompanied by targeted financial 
incentives where necessary.  

54 

Council Recommendation of 30 October 2020 on A Bridge to Jobs – Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee 
and replacing the Council Recommendation of 22 April 2013 on establishing a Youth Guarantee (OJ C 
372, 4.11.2020). 

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(29)  Social inclusion services, for example social work, counselling, coaching, mentoring, 
psychological  support  and  various  rehabilitation  schemes,  and  measures  facilitating 
access to other enabling or essential services are also necessary to build robust social 
safety nets. Efforts should also continue to improve the quality of services, in line with 
the  Voluntary  European  Quality  Framework  for  Social  Services55,  and  to  ensure  the 
continuity  of  access  to  essential  services.  Measures  to  address  financial  and  non-
financial  barriers  that  hamper  equal  and  universal  access  to  services  should  also  be 
strengthened. 

(30)  A more individualised support aiming at identifying and addressing complex needs of 
persons lacking sufficient resources and their households can significantly contribute 
to their successful social and economic integration. A needs assessment should result 
in  concluding  a  tailor-made  inclusion  plan  covering  persons  lacking  sufficient 
resources  of  a  given  household  (individually  or  jointly),  determining  the  type  of 
support needed and agreed objectives. The support should include suitably sequenced 
social  inclusion  measures  or  active  labour  market  policy  measures,  depending  on 
individual  situation  and  the  availability  to  work,  while  ensuring  a  balance  between 
positive  incentives  and  activation  requirements56.  The  job  integration  agreements 
concluded  in  accordance  with  Council  Recommendation  on  the  integration  of  the 
long-term  unemployed  into  the  labour  market57  can  also  serve  this  purpose  and  may 
thus  be  reviewed  if  needed  to  include  also  a  wider  set  of  enabling  services  for 
integration of persons lacking sufficient resources. 

(31)  Effective  governance  mechanisms  are  key  for  delivering  robust  social  safety  nets. 
Administration of the benefits and services provision should take the advantage of the 
tools  offered  by  the  digital  transition,  while  avoiding  exclusion  by  digital  divide. 
Efforts  should  be  made  to  ensure  close  coordination  and  alignment  of  existing 
schemes  and  benefits,  as  well  as  their  coordination  with  other  policies.  Particular 
attention  needs  to  be  paid  to  strengthening  the  operational  capacity  of  all  involved 
institutions.  Data  exchange  and  closer  co-operation  across  different  levels  of 
governance  and  services,  including  through  formal  agreements  or  one-stop-shops, 
facilitate  better-integrated  support.  Reliable  monitoring  and  regular  evaluating  of 
policy  impact,  with  the  involvement  of  all  stakeholders,  can  contribute  to  increased 
efficiency, informed policymaking and improved transparency of the national systems.  

(32)  Mutual learning and exchange of best practices at Union level together with analytical 
work  to  further  elaborate  the  existing  Union  benchmarking  framework  on  minimum 
income,  including  through  enhancing  the  availability  and  comparability  of  relevant 
indicators  and  data  regularity  should  support  Member  States  in  the  design  and 
implementation of national reforms.  

(33)  Union  funds  are  available  to  support  the  implementation  of  this  Recommendation. 
Within the European Social Fund Plus58, each Member States should allocate at least 

55 
56 

57 

58 

A voluntary European Quality Framework for Social Services’, SPC/2010/10 final. 
Evidence shows that more active job-search does lead to increased employment, while no evidence for a 
similar positive effect of tougher sanction rules on employment is found. See: OECD, Does Demanding 
Activation Work? A Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Unemployment Benefit Conditionality on 
Employment in 21 Advanced Economies, 1980–2012. 
Council Recommendation of 15 February 2016 on the integration of the long-term unemployed into the 
labour market (OJ C 67, 20.2.2016). 
Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 establishing 
the  European  Social  Fund  Plus  (ESF+)  and  repealing  Regulation  (EU)  No  1296/2013,  OJ  L  231, 
30.6.2021. 

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25%  of  the  European  Social  Fund  Plus  to  combat  social  exclusion.  The  European 
Regional  Development  Fund  and  InvestEU  can  equally  support  investments  in 
enabling  social  infrastructure,  such  as  social  housing  and  early  childhood  education 
and care, as well as equipment and access to quality services. The Technical Support 
Instrument and the Recovery and Resilience Facility already support Member States in 
designing and implementing structural reforms in the area of minimum income. 

(34)  The  implementation  of  this  Recommendation  cannot  be  used  to  lower  the  level  of 
protection  by  existing  national  legislation  or  as  spelled  out  in  the  Recommendation 
92/441/EEC.  Member  States  are  invited  to  introduce  or  maintain  more  favourable 
provisions than those recommended herein.  

(35)  The  overall  sustainability  of  public  finances  and  the  adequate  funding  of  minimum 
their  resilience,  efficiency  and  effectiveness.  The 
income  are  essential  for 
implementation  of  this  Recommendation  should  not  significantly  affect  the  financial 
equilibrium of Member States’ social protection systems.  

(36)  Distributional  impact  assessment  (hereinafter  ‘DIA’)  is  a  useful  tool  to  capture  the 
impact of budgetary measures and other reforms and investments on different income 
groups,  including  on  the  most  disadvantaged.  Thus,  DIA  can  contribute  to  a  more 
efficient  and  effective design of tax and benefit  reforms,  ensuring that no one is  left 
behind. A Commission Communication provides guidance to Member States on how 
best to embed DIA in their policy-making processes59. 

HAS ADOPTED THIS RECOMMENDATION 

OBJECTIVE  

(1)  With  a  view  to  ensure  a  life  in  dignity  at  all  stages  of  life,  this 
Recommendation  aims  at  combatting  poverty  and  social  exclusion  by 
promoting  adequate income support,  in  particular minimum  income, effective 
access  to  enabling  and  essential  services  for  persons  lacking  sufficient 
resources  and  fostering  labour  market  integration  of  those  who  can  work,  in 
line with the active inclusion approach.  

DEFINITIONS  

(2) 

For the purpose of this Recommendation, the following definitions apply:  

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

‘persons lacking sufficient resources’ means persons living in households with 
insufficient, irregular or uncertain monetary and material resources, which are 
indispensable  for  their  health  and  well-being  and  for  participating  in  the 
economic and social life;  

'income support’ means a total of all types of monetary benefits provided to the 
household, including minimum income benefits; 

‘minimum  income’  means  non-contributory  and  means-tested  safety  nets 
operating within social protection systems; 

‘coverage’ means the entitlement to participate in minimum income as defined 
in the national legislation; 

59 

Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  Economic  and 
Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘Better assessing the distributional assessment of 
Member States’ policies, (forthcoming).  

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(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

‘take-up’ means the proportion of persons lacking sufficient resources entitled 
to participate in minimum income who actually take part in them; 

‘enabling services’ means services targeting specific needs of persons lacking 
sufficient  resources  to  ensure  that  they  are  able  to  integrate  in  society  and, 
where relevant, into the labour market, including social inclusion services, for 
example social work, counselling, coaching, mentoring, psychological support, 
and  rehabilitation  and  other  general  enabling  services,  including  early 
childhood  education  and  care,  healthcare,  long  term  care,  education  and 
training, and housing; 

'essential  services'  include  water,  sanitation,  energy,  transport,  financial 
services and digital communications; 

‘effective  access  to  services’  means a situation in  which relevant  services are 
readily available, affordable, accessible, of good quality, provided in  a timely 
manner and where the potential users have equal access to them, are aware of 
their existence, as well as of entitlements to use them; 

‘inclusion  plan’  means  an  agreement  or  set  of  agreements  concluded  with 
persons  lacking  sufficient  resources,  aiming  at  fostering  their  social  inclusion 
and, for those who can work, their  labour market integration. 

ADEQUACY OF INCOME SUPPORT 

(3) 

(4) 

Member States are recommended to develop robust social safety nets that guarantee 
life  in  dignity  at  all  stages  of  life,  combining  adequate  income  support  -  including 
minimum  income  benefits  and  other  accompanying  monetary  benefits-  and  in-kind 
benefits, giving access to enabling and essential services. 

In order ensure adequate income support, Member States are recommended to set the 
level of income support through a transparent and robust methodology defined in the 
legislation  and  involving  relevant  stakeholders.  The  methodology  should  take  into 
account  overall  income  sources,  the  specific  needs  and  disadvantaged  situations  of 
the  households,  the  income  of  a  low-wage  earner  or  a  minimum  wage  earner, 
standards  of 
their  related 
developments.  

living  and  purchasing  power,  price 

levels  and 

(5) 

While safeguarding incentives to (re)integrate in the labour market for those who can 
work,  income  support  should  gradually  increase  the  income  of  persons  lacking 
sufficient resources, to a level which is at least equivalent to one of the following:  

(a) 

(b) 

the national-at-risk-of poverty threshold; or 

the  monetary  value  of  necessary  goods  and  services,  including  adequate 
nutrition,  housing, healthcare and essential  services, according to  the national 
definitions; or 

(c) 

other levels comparable to the levels referred to in point (a) or (b), established 
by national law or practice. 

(6) 

Member  States  are  recommended  to  achieve  the  adequate  level  of  income  support 
provided for in paragraph (5) by 31 December 2030 at the latest, while safeguarding 
the sustainability of public finances. 

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(7) 

(8) 

Member States are recommended to annually review and, where relevant, adjust the 
level of income support to maintain its adequacy, while taking into account in-kind 
benefits.  

With  a  view  to  promoting  gender  equality,  income  security  and  economic 
independence  of  women,  young  adults  and  people  with  disabilities,  Member  States 
are recommended to ensure a possibility to request the income support to be provided 
to individual members of the household. 

COVERAGE OF MINIMUM INCOME  

(9) 

Member  States  are  recommended  to  ensure  that  all  persons  lacking  sufficient 
resources are covered by minimum income set by law, defining:  

(a) 

transparent  and  non-discriminatory  eligibility  criteria,  safeguarding  effective 
access to minimum income for young adults and regardless of the existence of 
permanent  address,  while  ensuring  that  the  length  of  legal  residence  is 
proportionate;  

(b)  means testing thresholds that reflect the standard of living in  a Member State 
for different types and sizes of households and take into account the other types 
of incomes (and assets) of the household in a proportionate way;  

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

time  needed  to  process  the  application,  while  ensuring  that  the  decision  is 
issued within 30 days from its submission; 

the  continuity  of  access  to  minimum  income  as  long  as  persons  lacking 
sufficient  resources  comply  with  the  eligibility  criteria,  with  a  regular 
frequency of eligibility reviews;  

simple,  rapid,  impartial  and  free  of  charge  complaint  and  appeal  procedures, 
while ensuring that persons lacking sufficient resources are informed and have 
effective access to such procedures; 

(f)  mechanisms that ensure that minimum income is responsive to socio-economic 
crises,  for  instance  through  temporarily  relaxing  the  eligibility  criteria  or 
extending the duration of benefits. 

TAKE-UP OF MINIMUM INCOME  

(10)  Member  States  are  recommended  to  encourage  full  take-up  of  minimum  income 

through: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

reducing  administrative  burden,  including  through  simplifying  the  application 
procedures  and  ensuring  step-by-step  guidance  for  those  who  need  it,  while 
paying attention to the availability of digital and non-digital tools; 

ensuring  access  to  user-friendly,  free  of  charge,  and  updated  information  on 
rights and obligations related to minimum income; 

pro-actively  reaching  out  to  persons  lacking  sufficient  resources  to  raise 
awareness and encourage the take-up, particularly of single-parent households, 
including  through  involving  relevant  stakeholders  at  national,  regional  and 
local level; 

(d) 

taking steps to combat stigmatisation and unconscious bias attached to poverty 
and social exclusion; 

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(e) 

regularly assessing the non-take-up of minimum income and, where applicable, 
related  labour  market  activation  measures,  identifying  the  barriers  and  put  in 
place remedial actions. 

ACCESS TO INCLUSIVE LABOUR MARKETS  

(11)  With a view to promote high employment rate and inclusive labour markets, Member 
States  are  recommended  to  ensure  labour  market  activation,  remove  barriers  to 
(re)enter and stay in  employment,  support people able to work in their pathways to 
quality  employment,  ensure  incentives  to  work,  tackle  in-work  poverty  and  labour 
market  segmentation,  incentivise  formal  employment,  fight  undeclared  work  and 
facilitate working opportunities, by: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

ensuring that activation requirements provide sufficient incentives to (re)enter 
the  labour  market,  while  being  gradual  and  proportionate;  particular  attention 
should be paid to  young adults to direct them back into education, training or 
the labour market within the shortest time possible; 

improving  investment  in  human  capital  through  inclusive  education  and 
training policies, supporting upskilling and reskilling, particularly of those with 
low or outdated skills, including through cooperation with social partners;  

providing  for  the  possibility  to  combine  income  support  with  earnings  from 
work,  a  progressive  phasing  out  of  income  support  or  retaining  the  right  to 
income support during probation periods or traineeships and short or sporadic 
work;  

reviewing  regularly  the  incentives  and  disincentives  resulting  from  tax  and 
benefit systems; 

supporting work opportunities in the social economy sector, including through 
the provision of  practical working experience; 

facilitating transition  to  employment through offering measures to  employers, 
such  as 
support,  mentoring, 
(post)placement 
counselling, promoting job retention and advancement. 

recruitment 

incentives, 

ACCESS TO ENABLING AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES  

(12)  Member States are recommended to ensure: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

effective  and  equal  access  to  enabling  services,  including  in  accordance  with 
quality  principles  defined  in  the  Voluntary  European  Quality  Framework  for 
Social Services;  

safeguarding  continuity  of  effective  access  to  essential  services,  including 
energy; 

addressing  financial  and  non-financial  barriers  to  effective  access  to  enabling 
and essential services.  

INDIVIDUALISED SUPPORT 

(13)  With a view to addressing diverse barriers of persons lacking sufficient resources to 
social  inclusion  and,  for  those  who  can  work,  to  employment,  Member  States  are 
recommended  to  develop  an  individualised  approach  and  coordinate  service 
provision, by: 

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(a) 

carrying out a multi-dimensional needs assessment examining barriers to social 
inclusion  and  employment,  identifying  enabling  and  essential  services 
necessary to address those barriers and determining the support needed; 

(b)  on  that  basis,  not  later  than  three  months  from  accessing  minimum  income 

drawing an inclusion plan that should 

(1)  define joint objectives and timelines;  

(2)  outline  a  package  of  support  tailored  to  individual  needs,  comprising 
labour  market  measures  and/or  measures  fostering  social 

active 
inclusion;  

(3) 

assign  a  case  manager  who  will  ensure  continuous  support,  organise 
timely referrals to relevant services and regularly oversee the progress in 
implementation of the inclusion plan;  

(c) 

for  persons  lacking  sufficient  resources  who  are  long-term  unemployed, 
reviewing  and,  where  necessary,  adapting  the  existing  job  integration 
agreement in accordance with Recommendation on the integration of the long-
term unemployed into the labour market  60 to complement it with elements of 
the inclusion plan referred to in point (b). 

GOVERNANCE, MONITORING AND REPORTING 

(14)  With  a  view  of  effective  design  and  implementation  of  robust  social  safety  nets  at 

national, regional and local level, Member States are recommended to: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

avoid  gaps,  overlaps  and  fragmentation  of  various  benefits  and  schemes  to 
provide  for  a  coherent  package  of  income  support,  activation  measures  and 
enabling services; 

strengthen the operational capacity of authorities in charge of income support, 
employment  services  and  providers  of  enabling  services  and  enhance  their 
cooperation,  including  through  data  sharing  and  promoting  further  integrated 
service models;    

empower  relevant  stakeholders,  such  as  regional  and  local  authorities,  social 
partners, civil society organisations and social economy actors, with a view to 
their  effective  participation  in  the  design,  implementation,  monitoring  and 
evaluation of minimum income schemes; 

(d) 

ensure the adequate funding of social safety nets in a manner coherent with the 
overall sustainability of public finances. 

(15) 

To better inform policy making, Member States are recommended to: 

(a) 

the 

income  support  policies, 
implementation  of 
continuously  monitor 
particularly minimum  income, and related labour market  activation measures, 
of access to services, including through improving the availability and quality 
of  relevant  data  across  all  levels  of  governance  and  through  carrying  out 
regular  evaluations,  and  make  adjustments  to  achieve  the  objectives  of  this 
Recommendation in the most efficient way;  

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(b)  develop,  while  respecting  data  protection  rules,  mechanisms  allowing  to 
follow-up  persons  lacking  sufficient  resources  with  regards  to  their  social 
inclusion or transition to employment; 

(c) 

report  every  3  years to  the Commission  on the progress  in  implementing this 
and 
first 
Recommendation; 
recommendations of the evaluations referred to in point (a).  

should 

results 

report 

cover 

the 

the 

(16) 

The Council welcomes the Commission’s intention to: 

(a)  work jointly with Member States in the Social Protection Committee to further 
elaborate the benchmarking framework on minimum  income and enhance the 
availability and comparability of relevant indicators and data;  

(b) 

(c) 

reinforce  mutual  learning  and  dissemination  of  results  and  good  practices 
among Member States; 

on  the  basis  of  the  reports  referred  in  paragraph  15,  point  (c)  and  within  the 
Social Protection Committee, regularly review progress made in implementing 
this  Recommendation,  in  close  cooperation  with  the  Employment  Committee 
and the network of the Public Employment Services with regard to the access 
to inclusive labour markets;  

(d)  monitor progress  in  implementing this Recommendation in  the context  of the 
European  Semester  and  propose,  where  appropriate,  country-specific 
recommendations to the Member States; 

(e) 

take stock  of actions  taken in  response to  this Recommendation, in  particular 
with  regard  to  its  impact  on  reduction  of  poverty  and  social  exclusion, 
increasing  employment  levels  and  improving  participation  in  training,  and 
report to the Council by 2032.  

(17) 

Recommendation 92/441/EEC is replaced by this Recommendation. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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