5 December 2025
SGI Europe, together with the MEPs involved in the European Parliament’s intergroup on Social Economy and Services of General Interest, will organise an event of the Intergroup on Wednesday, 10 December 2025, at the European Parliament (Brussels).
To highlight the importance of high-quality Services of General Interest (SGIs), ranging from water, energy, and housing to healthcare, education, and social care, as a safeguard for the realisation of the Freedom to stay, the discussion will be two-fold. The first panel will focus on the future of the EU Cohesion Policy and how SGIs are a guarantee of the EU's social, economic, and territorial cohesion. The second panel will reflect on the crucial issue of financing the Freedom to Stay by embedding SGIs in the next MFF.
Gathering several MEPs, including Vice-President Victor Negrescu, the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Kata Tüttő, as well as Enrico Letta, author of the report on the future of the EU Single Market, and several SGI Europe members and partners, this discussion is surely one not to be missed.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
The European Commission published on 4 December its Quality Jobs Roadmap, setting out a comprehensive agenda to strengthen job quality as a lever for competitiveness, workforce participation and social cohesion. The Communication focuses on enabling conditions for quality jobs, covering skills development and transitions, anticipation of restructuring, investment frameworks such as socially responsible public procurement, and the modernisation of labour-market practices. It also explicitly recalls the role of social partners, framing their involvement as central to the effective implementation of this agenda and linking it with commitments made under the Pact for European Social Dialogue.
Alongside the Communication, the Commission launched the first-phase consultation on a possible Quality Jobs Act. This consultation addresses areas where EU-level action may be envisaged, including the use of algorithmic management and AI at work, updated health and safety rules in the context of telework and digitalisation, enforcement challenges linked to subcontracting, and approaches to support implementation through social dialogue. The deadline for contributions is 29 January 2026.
For SGI Europe, this initiative represents an opportunity to engage constructively while ensuring that any forthcoming action remains proportionate and adaptable to the diversity of employment models within services of general interest. Our contribution will underline service continuity requirements, recruitment and skills challenges, and the need to preserve flexibility for employers operating in highly regulated sectors. SGI Europe will work with its members in the coming weeks to prepare its position.
Contact: Guillaume Affelat
From 3 to 5 December, the ESF+ Committee held its plenary meeting in Copenhagen, gathering representatives from Member States, the European Commission, and EU-level social partners. SGI Europe members were also present and contributed to the discussions.
Chaired by Christoph Nerlich, new Head of Unit ESF+ at DG EMPL, the meeting offered an opportunity to reflect on recent developments in EU social and employment policy and to exchange on the implementation of ESF+ programmes across the Union. Participants discussed good practices from the Danish Presidency on the interplay between ESF+, ERDF and the Just Transition Fund, highlighting how coordinated investment can better support people, enterprises and communities.
In addition to presenting updates on ongoing initiatives and recent guidance on social inclusion and disability employment, the European Commission addressed the social dimension of the future EU budgetary framework. While the Commission reaffirmed the importance of continued support for skills, inclusion and access to quality services of general interest, discussions showed that several aspects of the future framework, including the role of ESF+ and the approach to social spending, remain under active debate.
SGI Europe welcomes the open exchange with Member States and the Commission, and reiterates the importance of maintaining strong partnership structures, balanced territorial approaches and predictable investment in people and in the services that underpin social cohesion. These elements, as highlighted in SGI Europe’s recent position paper on the future MFF, remain essential to ensure that EU funding continues to support long-term social and economic resilience.
Contact: Cecilia Martin
On Wednesday 3 December, the European Commission adopted the RESourceEU Action Plan to accelerate efforts in securing the EU’s supply of critical raw materials (CRMs) like lithium and cobalt to secure critical material flow in Europe. Building on the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), the plan aims to reduce strategic dependencies by up to 50% by 2029, with the aim of balancing environmental protection with the industrial need for domestic CRM extraction.
A key, and controversial, element of the plan involves reviewing EU environmental legislation. Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall confirms that water laws must be revised to clear the way for new mines in the bloc. The Commission is set to review and revise the Water Framework Directive (WFD) by Q2 2026 to address "potential bottlenecks" that environmental laws might pose to the promotion of circularity and access to CRMs. The concern over revising the Water Framework Directive (WFD) to accelerate mining is in view of SGI Europe risking to legally weakening core environmental protections that are fundamental to preventing water pollution across the EU.
Additionally, to boost supply, the Commission will mobilise up to €3 billion over the next year to support priority projects. Special consideration will also be given to the mining industry under the incoming REACH revision.
The plan also focuses on boosting circularity. It proposes expanding the list of products requiring labels to facilitate recycling under the CRMA and allowing pre-consumer CRM waste to count toward recycled content. Furthermore, a European Critical Raw Materials Centre and a Raw Materials Platform will be established in early 2026 to provide market intelligence and facilitate joint purchasing and stockpiling of these vital resources.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On 1 December, EU employment and social affairs ministers endorsed the Danish Presidency’s conclusions on the future European Affordable Housing Plan, offering political guidance ahead of the Commission’s proposal expected in 2026.
The text acknowledges the growing housing affordability crisis across the EU and confirms that, while housing policy remains a national competence, there is clear scope for EU support through coordination, funding tools and knowledge sharing. It also stresses the central role of regions, cities and local authorities in designing and implementing effective solutions.
The conclusions identify four areas where EU action can add value. First, on financing, ministers invite the Commission to explore better use of existing instruments and to assess possible adjustments to SGEI State aid rules and the General Block Exemption Regulation to make support for affordable and sustainable housing simpler and more flexible. Second, on construction and sustainability, they call for measures to boost renovation, encourage innovative and low-carbon materials, and address labour and skills shortages in the construction sector. Third, regarding planning, the conclusions highlight the need to improve permitting, spatial planning and land availability, including through digitalisation, while balancing environmental and safety requirements. Finally, the social dimension receives strong attention, with calls for reinforced cooperation on homelessness, improved accessibility for persons with disabilities, and action to prevent segregation through inclusive neighbourhood planning.
For SGI Europe, those conclusions send an important signal that services of general interest are central to addressing the housing challenge. The reference to possible updates of SGEI State aid rules is particularly welcome, as it reflects SGI Europe’s call for simplified and future-ready frameworks that enable long-term investment at the local level. SGI Europe will continue monitoring the topic as the European Commission finalises the proposal for a European Affordable Housing Plan.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
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