The future of social protection and the welfare state in the EU: report of the High Level Group with participation of Prof. Bernhard Ebbinghaus presented in Brussels

The High-Level Group on the Future of Social Protection and of the Welfare State has presented its report in Brussels. The group consists of eleven experts, including the Mannheim sociologist Prof. Bernhard Ebbinghaus. In its report, the High-Level Group in the EU analyses the expected impacts of key megatrends on the social protection and on the welfare state. It describes their implications for the design and scope of social protection systems and the financing of social protection. Furthermore, it develops key strategic recommendations to both Member States and the EU. Beside longer-term trends, the report reflects on the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and from the Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its repercussions, such as the growing challenge of energy poverty.

(7 February 2023)