Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions – Addressing territorial inequalities by improving access to social services
Date: 2024-11-20
Institutions: Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture, European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU financing, EU regional policy, digital infrastructure supply, economic and social cohesion, regional development, regional disparity, right to housing, social services








C_202500281EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/281


24.1.2025






Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions – Addressing territorial inequalities by improving access to social services
(C/2025/281)














Rapporteur



:


Declan McDONNELL (IE/EA), Member of Galway City Council









POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (CoR),








1.


welcomes the referral from the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union on addressing territorial inequalities by improving access to social services, recognising the critical importance of this issue for local and regional authorities across the EU. As the level of government closest to citizens, local and regional authorities can play a crucial role in ensuring equitable access to essential services, which is fundamental to fostering social cohesion and reducing disparities, though it is acknowledged that in many EU countries local and regional government plays only a limited fiscal and policy implementation role;












2.


acknowledges the significant challenges faced by local and regional authorities in this field, including disparities in infrastructure, digital access, and the availability of skilled personnel, which often hinder the effective delivery of social services, particularly in remote and underserved areas. These challenges are compounded by financial constraints, the complexity of cross-border cooperation, and the need for enhanced coordination among various levels of government; recognises, therefore, the importance for local and regional authorities, and for governments, of the wealth of experience of non-profit associations caring for vulnerable people and people with disabilities, and highlights, therefore, the important role played by these bodies in defending social rights and providing services in cooperation with public administrations;





Integrated regional development strategy









3.


advocates the development of a comprehensive regional development strategy that integrates poverty reduction, social inclusion, and the promotion of lifelong learning in digital skills, and the promotion of upskilling and reskilling programmes tailored to the needs of local communities and industries ensuring that regional disparities are effectively addressed. These comprehensive regional development strategies, and the objectives of reducing inequalities, should also involve local authorities, particularly large cities. It is local authorities that provide many of these services and they are the level of government closest to citizens; in addition, they also face such disparities within their municipalities;












4.


recommends that the integrated strategy prioritise access to employment, as a key tool for inclusion and economic empowerment, and that it be actively promoted in order to facilitate economic autonomy, prevent poverty becoming chronic and improve the living conditions of people in poverty. Vocational training and upskilling, job support and counselling programmes, digital training and access to technology, and work-related transition and reintegration programmes are of great importance in providing employment opportunities for vulnerable populations;












5.


calls for targeted investments in deprived areas with high unemployment and high levels of population dispersion, to ensure equitable development and affordable housing, to strengthen the regional economy and create a better living environment for all citizens, as well as to meet the challenge posed by an ageing population, especially in rural areas;












6.


calls for specific investments for regions with a larger geographical size, a higher level of population dispersion and higher rates of population ageing and care-dependant people, given the high economic cost of providing social and health care;












7.


proposes to improve the delivery of training, digital literacy, upskilling and reskilling initiatives and new models of social service delivery, particularly in remote and socio-economically challenged areas through initiatives such as the European Digital Innovation Hubs Network, as well as by recognising certifications of skills based on experience, in order to make it easier to recruit people to deliver services and programmes for the care of vulnerable persons and people with disabilities, ensuring that the target population is involved in designing and assessing these initiatives;












8.


recommends the integration of recreational, social, cultural and sports facilities, amenities, and community-development projects into regional strategies to enhance the quality of life and promote social cohesion and care;












9.


supports the inclusion of housing policy in broader regional strategies to promote inclusive communities;












10.


advocates the creation of a Europe-wide digital platform that provides information on access to social services across the Member States. Highlights by the same token the need to involve local and regional authorities by means of a decentralised approach in a broad collaboration to improve the interoperability of government systems, including cross-border interoperability, with a view to making the provision of public services more effective;












11.


calls, furthermore, for the creation, roll-out, implementation and development of a multi-professional platform needed to handle cases, with specific access for the various social service professionals involved, especially in the most critical or vulnerable regions, with a view to making it easier for professionals to deal with cases and coordinate among themselves, preferably in the context of intervention plans for target groups;












12.


calls for the development of comprehensive strategies to address the challenges of ageing populations as well as the particular needs of vulnerable groups, focusing on access to healthcare, care for older people (especially those experiencing loneliness), people with disabilities and those dependent on care, and social support services. In particular, chronic conditions and mental health should be taken into account through services that facilitate treatment and rehabilitation;












13.


calls for specific incentives for carers who look after older and vulnerable people in regions with an ageing population, such as tax relief, training grants and priority access to respite services and psychological and physical support;





Fiscal and economic constraints









14.


acknowledges the fiscal constraints that exist in many national and regional economies, in particular, fiscal rules that limit budgetary expansion to invest in critical public services, such as healthcare, education, housing and social services. These restraints are likely to remain, necessitating a rethinking of how to expand the economic base in these Member States and regions, therefore reducing disparities and promoting long-term social well-being and sustainability;












15.


points out that successful European integration is closely linked to quality of life in EU border regions; calls for territorial strategies to pay particular attention to the specific situation in border regions and seek solutions for cross-border access to social services; in this regard, draws attention to the opinion on Mechanism to resolve legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context – The Cross-Border Facilitation Tool (1) (COTER-VII/037);












16.


calls for a comprehensive evidence-based debate on potential innovations in fiscal rules to allow for greater social investment; for instance, exempting investments identified as social investments (including economic support to non-profit social associations) from the deficit procedure or from taxation. Calls to this effect for the introduction of an EU social taxonomy, developed in cooperation with local and regional experts, determining which investments could be considered social, in the vein of the EU taxonomy for environmentally sustainable activities;












17.


calls for special attention to integrating digital literacy and technical skills into educational and training programmes to equip young people with the competencies needed for the evolving job market, especially in rural and underserved areas, as well as older people, who are also heavily affected by the digital divide;












18.


acknowledges the economic constraints imposed on low-growth/low-income national and regional economies. This can be caused by low levels of market activity, which results in an unbalanced reliance on non-market goods and services, including social protection and social transfers. This results in low household and enterprise income, low wages and precarious working conditions, and risks a flight of skills and labour resources;












19.


calls for a two-fold strategy: (a) regional-based industrial/enterprise policies to provide for increased activity in the market economy, focused on environmentally and socially sustainable practices. Public-led production and investment should be used to create conditions that would attract private investments in undeveloped markets and support regions where private capital is reluctant to invest; and (b) promotion of living wages and protection against precarious work contracts to ensure that workers benefit from stable, secure and dignified employment. This should be complemented by universal collective bargaining and other means to promote employee participation and aim towards ‘zero long- term unemployment areas’;





Improving service availability and efficiency









20.


recommends the implementation of integrated service delivery models that coordinate healthcare, education and training, housing, transport and social services, supported by cross-sector collaboration between the public, private, and community sectors, ensuring that vulnerable and underprivileged groups are fully included;












21.


supports the modernisation and expansion of public transportation services, particularly in underserved areas, to improve access to social services and enhance regional mobility;












22.


stresses that care should be provided as close as possible to the public. It is therefore important to ensure access to healthcare, including psychiatric care, in remote areas as well. Accessibility can be ensured using various tools, for example by providing robust digital technical support;












23.


advocates increasing the level of digitalisation and, where needed, staffing in local and regional authorities to offer more efficient services to residents, especially in the provision of essential services such as housing, grant applications and planning approvals;












24.


deems it necessary to invest in the innovation, development and implementation of support products and technology for the homes of older people and people with disabilities to ensure that they can continue living independent lives and participating in the social life of their communities;












25.


encourages the development of mobile social services and community centres that provide a range of services in one location, including services for skills training and upskilling, particularly in isolated communities;












26.


calls for early childhood education (0-3) to be as universally accessible as possible (including free where feasible) in order to promote children’s well-being, increase household income and encourage labour force participation and gender equality in employment, especially as regards women’s access to the labour market, in line with the Barcelona targets for early childhood education and care (2). This should be complemented by wage adequacy for childcare and all care workers, recognising, on the one hand, the importance of high-quality early childhood education and, on the other, the need to promote gender equality in the care sector;












27.


encourages the development of youth-specific services, including accessible education, training/career guidance, and employment initiatives, with practical training in areas such as technology and environmental sustainability, so as to prepare young people to face the challenges of the labour market and encourage them to contribute to their local community, taking particular account of the underrepresentation of young women in certain economic areas and sectors;












28.


advocates the strengthening of access to supports and services for all those in need, including homecare support for those with disabilities, older people and those disadvantaged by mental health issues. This can improve their life quality, while promoting the labour force participation of family carers, which boosts living standards while ensuring the full implementation of the Barcelona Declaration;












29.


calls for the promotion of home care for care-dependent older people and people with disabilities in rural and cross-border areas, through innovative services based on integrated service delivery models that enable them to stay at home if they wish. This would improve their quality of life and help generate a care economy around those that are living in rural and cross-border areas;












30.


calls for better and more dignified working conditions for care professionals. The enormous difficulties in finding professionals to care for older people, care-dependent people and people with disabilities in rural and cross-border areas means that specific policies must be adopted to alleviate this shortage as far as possible;












31.


promotes volunteerism and local solidarity-based initiatives as key complementary aspects of social service delivery, strengthening community development and enhancing service accessibility. This includes ensuring universal and affordable access to sporting, recreational, cultural and social activities, as well as skills development programmes, especially for young people, to improve health and educational outcomes while relieving household costs. Recommends, furthermore, that volunteering be promoted by encouraging the making available of specific spaces and logistical support for the activities, thus making voluntary engagement more sustainable and effective;












32.


calls for the systematic involvement of public sector employees through employee-driven innovation programmes (or bottom-up innovation) in the design and delivery of social services, incorporating the territorial dimension and complemented and supported by the inclusion of users – to ensure that both the skills and experience of employees are integrated into the design and delivery of services, and to ensure that the specific needs of different social groups are met. This should be done through cooperation between trade unions and employers or equivalent national and regional systems;












33.


recommends the inclusion of children’s and young people’s perspectives in the design and delivery of social services to ensure that services address the unique needs of younger generations. This can be achieved by actively engaging children and young people through the development of children’s and young people’s forums and councils, enabling them to share ideas and contribute to local and community development. Asks for particular support for such initiatives in rural and underserved areas;












34.


recommends increasing available educational spaces, accommodation and support services to meet the diverse needs of all students, with a particular focus on rural and underserved regions. Specific social housing policies should be rolled out for students in areas with housing shortages, incentivising the redevelopment and renovation of existing buildings to create sustainable housing solutions, which could also include study spaces and student support hubs;





Leveraging digitalisation









35.


emphasises the need for significant investment in digital infrastructure in rural and underserved regions to bridge the digital divide, paying particular attention to the digital gender gap that particularly affects older women, and ensure that all citizens have access to essential services, while ensuring that the elderly and those with a lifelong learning disability or who otherwise find it difficult to utilise the digital infrastructure are not left at a disadvantage, but are favoured in training initiatives such as those described in point 17;












36.


calls for a debate over the extent to which broadband networks and access – given their essential role for households and businesses – should be treated as a service of general economic interest;












37.


supports the development of digital literacy programmes to empower marginalised communities, enabling them to fully benefit from e-governance and digital social services. Similarly, proposes the implementation of after-school training activities to equip children and teenagers, particularly those from socially vulnerable families, with basic or advanced digital skills, with priority being given to children living in poverty, rural areas affected by social inequality, or in the child protection system;












38.


advocates the adoption of smart village concepts that leverage digital technologies to improve service delivery, quality of life, social inclusion, civic participation and regional development;












39.


encourages cross-border cooperation to enhance the interoperability of social services, particularly in regions with significant cross-border movement;












40.


recommends the creation of an EU-wide strategy to reduce the digital divide, ensuring that broadband access is available to all citizens, including in remote areas; recommends using digitalisation to promote a strategy that advances universal community accessibility in order to foster individual autonomy;












41.


advocates ongoing investment in public sector innovation – in particular, employee-focused and employee-led innovation – focusing on digitalisation as a means to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of social services, ensuring that rural areas benefit from advanced technological solutions and enhanced service delivery;





Addressing spatial segregation and housing challenges









42.


urges the Member States and regions to treat access to housing as a human right, in accordance with Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (3), which recognises the right to housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living, and with Article 34.3 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (4), whereby the Union recognises and respects the right to social and housing assistance. Therefore, the CoR calls on all levels of government to prioritise the development of inclusive and sustainable housing policies which would improve conditions for cities and regions to ensure access to affordable, quality housing, for all those in housing need, those experiencing sustained financial hardships related to housing affordability and those who live in housing deprivation, including those belonging to marginalised groups, and to promote technical and social support associated with access to such housing;












43.


calls for the acceleration of housing delivery processes, including the streamlining of administrative procedures, with an emphasis on digital solutions, to meet urgent needs and reduce homelessness;












44.


recommends that local authorities consider flexible housing arrangements, such as cooperative housing models, to address local housing needs effectively and promote active ageing;












45.


warns against short-term rental housing, which, if not adequately regulated, may jeopardise tenant rights and can disrupt local communities, causing displacement and gentrification. Calls to this effect for the full implementation of the EU framework to regulate short-term rentals and mitigate the impact of short-term rental digital platforms on housing markets, particularly as regards platforms’ obligations to comply with local and regional regulations and to inform local and regional authorities about housing units used for short-term rentals;





Social inclusion and community integration









46.


encourages local and regional authorities to develop initiatives that promote respect, inclusion, interculturalism and support for all nationalities, fostering a welcoming and diverse community. There are particular cultural challenges faced by migrants, the GRT community, and ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities, namely, discrimination, segregation, exploitation. This requires legislative protection and public-led social initiatives based on the fundamental values of liberal democracy: tolerance, inclusion, acceptance. Access to public and social services should be universal;












47.


supports educational programmes and outreach efforts, targeted particularly but not only to marginalised groups, to explain their rights, obligations and opportunities, with the goal of ensuring their full access to social services;












48.


highlights the positive role that local, regional, national, European, and global sporting associations can play in improving physical and mental health, and encourages greater cooperation with the EU in promoting overall wellbeing;





Effective use of EU funds









49.


emphasises that regional development projects should, where appropriate, take account of broader social inclusion goals; EU funds need to take a holistic approach and make an active contribution to increasing cohesion between the different parts of the EU;












50.


urges the Member States and regions to raise awareness and invest in the development of measures for more effective prevention in relation to children in situations of vulnerability and violence, in the protection and comprehensive care of children who are victims of violence, including the necessary safeguards for alleged child offenders, and to support programmes aimed at preventing situations in which children are at risk or vulnerable, and promoting the development of protective environments for children in all areas;












51.


calls for transparent and accountable mechanisms for monitoring the use of EU funds, with regular reporting on progress and outcomes, to ensure efficient resource utilisation. This should be complemented by evidence-based research and data in policy-making, with emphasis on robust data collection and analysis to inform decisions and improve the effectiveness of social service intervention, to ensure that funds are used efficiently and for the intended purposes, and to promote cross-regional experimentation and learning;












52.


advocates innovative financing mechanisms, such as public-private-civil society partnerships, and the integration of EU funding programmes to support the development of social infrastructure in underserved regions while avoiding privatisation and market-driven approaches. These mechanisms should prioritise public ownership and community-driven initiatives, fostering collaboration with non-profit associations that provide support services to persons with disabilities, older people or vulnerable people, to ensure that social services remain publicly accountable and aligned with long-term social and environmental sustainability;












53.


calls for strengthened European funding for social innovation and pilot projects aimed at seeking scalable solutions for personal care, especially for people in rural or cross-border settings, as well as for the recruitment of new professionals for the care sector.






Brussels, 20 November 2024.


The President


of the European Committee of the Regions

Vasco ALVES CORDEIRO
               





(1)  Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions – Mechanism to resolve legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context – The Cross-Border Facilitation Tool (OJ C, C/2024/3672, 26.6.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3672/oj).

(2)  Council Recommendation of 8 December 2022 on early childhood education and care: the Barcelona targets for 2030 (OJ C 484, 20.12.2022, p. 1).

(3)  
            https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.

(4)  Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (OJ C 326, 26.10.2012, p. 391).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/281/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)