The Council of Europe is convinced of the need to improve access to social rights as a key means of combating poverty and social exclusion and in promoting social cohesion. The report on access to social rights in Europe is mainly based on the results of the activities related to access to employment, social protection and housing, as well as relevant work carried out within the Council of Europe in the fields of health and education. This report analyses the obstacles impeding access to different social rights within and across a range of fields. It also gives examples of how obstacles are being overcome, examines integrated measures implemented in the member states of the Council of Europe and identifies the principles on which measures to improve access to social rights should be based. Finally, the report develops cross-sectoral policy guidelines aimed at facilitating access to social rights.

Despite the progress made in the social rights field in Europe, many fundamental social rights are still not fully accessible to people with disabilities. This report examines key measures and identifies obstacles to full participation, particularly in the areas of education, vocational training and employment, the built environment and transport, information and communication, healthcare and social protection. It provides examples of good practice and makes cross-sectoral recommendations for integrated policy actions.

In the 1990s, the Maastricht Treaty introduced the right to free movement for EU citizens. In practice, however, there are substantial barriers to making use of this right, particularly to integration and to accessing the social and welfare rights available. This is particularly true when it comes to accessing social rights, such as social assistance, housing benefit, study grants and health care. This book provides a detailed description and thorough analysis of these barriers, in both law and practice.

This first open access book in a series of three volumes provides an in-depth analysis of social protection policies that EU Member States make accessible to resident nationals, non-resident nationals and non-national residents. In doing so, it discusses different scenarios in which the interplay between nationality and residence could lead to inequalities of access to welfare. Each chapter maps the eligibility conditions for accessing social benefits, by paying particular attention to the social entitlements that migrants can claim in host countries and/or export from home countries. The book also identifies and compares recent trends of access to welfare entitlements across five policy areas: health care, unemployment, family benefits, pensions, and guaranteed minimum resources. As such this book is a valuable read to researchers, policy makers, government employees and NGO’s.

This comprehensive second edition Research Handbook discusses a wide range of timely questions and dilemmas ensuing from the present state of European social security law. Presenting a kaleidoscopic concept of social security, a new generation of leading experts identifies future lines of inquiry that are likely to dominate the discourse in the coming years.

In Social Rights of Children in Europe Katharina Häusler provides a thorough analysis of how the major European human rights bodies interpret children’s basic social rights and thus unfolds the main challenges for the realisation of these rights in Europe.