GOTHENBURG, Sweden - European Union leaders proclaimed a set of 20 "social rights" on Friday in an attempt to make the EU more appealing to voters and counter rising eurosceptic sentiment across the bloc.
The set of social rights, supported by all EU governments and institutions, spells out what the EU believes are the foundations of fair and well-functioning modern labor markets and welfare systems.
It encompasses principles ranging from equal access to jobs and fair working conditions and wages to social protection and unemployment benefits and training.
"Our Union has always been a social project at heart. It is more than just a single market, more than money, more than the euro. It is about our values and the way we want to live," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said.
"Today we assert our common values and commit ourselves to a set of 20 principles and rights. From the right to fair wages to the right to health care; from lifelong learning, a better work-life balance and gender equality to minimum income," he said.
Recent elections in Germany, France, Austria and the Czech Republic, in which populist parties have performed well, have shown citizens have lost confidence in governments or in the European Union.
"There is certainly a need to respond," a senior EU official said. (Reuters)