Bulgaria’s outgoing Prime Minister Boyko Borissov is taking part in the Social Summit in Porto

Bulgaria’s outgoing Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on May 7 is taking part online in the Social Summit in Porto, which is the high point of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The focus of the forum will be on defining the European agenda for the next decade, which will ensure that the European community faces the challenges of the present and the future without anyone being left behind.

The EU Social Summit aims to strengthen the commitment of Member States, the European institutions, the social partners and civil society to the implementation of the Action Plan for the European Pillar of Social Rights.

EC President Ursula von der Leyen has put the European Pillar of Social Rights at the heart of the Commission's action to ensure a fair and inclusive recovery.

The Action Plan, presented by the EC in March 2021, proposes a number of initiatives and sets three main targets to be achieved throughout Europe by 2030:

• at least 78% of the population aged 20 to 64 should be in employment by 2030
• at least 60% of all adults should be participating in training every year by 2030
• a reduction of at least 15 millionin the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion

The social summit and the informal meeting of EU leaders in Porto are taking place on two consecutive days. The Social Summit will take place today, focusing on the best way to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov will take part in the panel on skills and innovation. In it, he will take the position that the rapid penetration of digital technologies, economic transformation and demographic change are factors that have a significant impact on the development of the labour market, jobs and skills.

An informal meeting of EU heads of state and government will also take place in Porto, which will continue with a working session of leaders on Saturday. The Heads of State and Government of the EU Member States will discuss how to give a strong political impetus to the European Social Pillar and its implementation.

The Porto Declaration on the EU's social dimension will be adopted at the informal European Council on 8 May.

The topics of the informal meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the EU member states today will be the COVID coordination and the forthcoming meeting of the European leaders with the Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi, which will take place tomorrow. It is the 16th EU-India summit and the aim is to upgrade and intensify established relations, especially in the current context of the coronavirus pandemic.