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External event
Published: 13 October 2022

Informal Meeting of Employment and Social Affairs Ministers (EPSCO)

When?
13 October 2022 - 14 October 2022
Where?

Prague, CZ

Online

Online

Event type
Other
Organised by
Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union; Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

This informal ministerial meeting brought together 27 ministers responsible for employment and social policy. On 14 October, following interventions by the EU Presidency and Nicolas Schmit, EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Eurofound’s Executive Director, Ivailo Kalfin, fed into the discussions drawing on Eurofound’s most recent data with a presentation on the impact of raising energy prices on the social situation of EU Member States.

Event background

This informal ministerial meeting brought together 27 ministers responsible for employment and social policy. The participants discussed the working topics of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU, especially the impact of energy poverty and the Ukrainian crisis.

On 14 October, following interventions by the EU Presidency and Nicolas Schmit, EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Eurofound’s Executive Director, Ivailo Kalfin, fed into the discussions drawing on Eurofound’s most recent data with a presentation on the impact of raising energy prices on the social situation of EU Member States.

More information

PDF document

Presentation: The rise in cost of living and energy poverty:Social impact and policy responses

by Ivailo Kalfin, Executive Director, Eurofound

Agenda

3 August 2022
Energy poverty looms as cost of living increases: Data behind the difficulties
Rising energy prices are putting more people under increased financial pressure and at greater risk of energy poverty. In this data story, we take a closer look at the data from the fifth round of the Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey to explore the extent of the issue and the threat of energy poverty.
Blog post
10 June 2022
Shifting the focus from energy subsidies to reducing energy dependence
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions have caused energy prices to soar. Governments seeking to alleviate the negative impacts of price increases on households have introduced energy subsidies and VAT reductions for electricity, gas and fuel. While such policies may be needed to protect those most in need, subsidising energy use is a short-term solution – it is a temporary, partial compensation that does not always reach those who are hardest hit. Added to this, subsidising fossil fuel energy use conflicts with the EU’s aims to limit carbon emissions and maintains its energy dependency on third countries, such as Russia.
Blog post

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