About the Task Force

Building upon the AER Political Priorities for 2025-2030, members of the AER Political Bureau during the Spring meeting in Maribor (June 2025) decided to establish a new Task Force on Access to Services, which will run from 2025 to 2027.

This Task Force seeks to improve the design and delivery of essential services across all European regions, including rural and remote areas. By providing services capable of enhancing quality of life and widening social and economic opportunities, the Task Force aims to help regions retain and attract residents and investment, enabling communities to thrive and contribute to Europe’s shared prosperity and greater social, economic and territorial cohesion. 

The main objective of this Task Force will be to showcase the pivotal role of regions in guaranteeing affordable, high-quality essential services across Europe and contribute to European policy and funding debates to strengthen regions’ ability to improve access to essential services. Regions are closest to citizens and play a central role in designing, financing and delivering services such as healthcare, education, housing, transport, and digital connectivity. By highlighting regional experiences, challenges, and innovations, the Task Force will demonstrate how regions act as key drivers of territorial cohesion, social inclusion and sustainable development, ensuring that service provision is understood not just as a national responsibility, but as a shared European priority where regional authorities are indispensable actors.

Background & Key Issues

Essential services are the fundamental services that fulfil basic human needs, promote well-being and enable full participation in society and economic life. They include water, sanitation, energy, transport, financial services, digital communications, education, childcare, healthcare, housing and employment, among others.

Principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), states that “everyone has the right to access essential services of good quality, including water, sanitation, energy, transport, financial services, and digital communications”, and that “support for access to such services shall be available for those in need”.

Delivering affordable, quality services creates the opportunities that make communities thrive. Access to good schools, reliable healthcare, adequate housing, efficient transport and modern digital connections and other essential services transforms places into attractive communities where people want to live and work. These services do more than meet basic needs, they are essential for strengthening regional communities and attracting talent and investment, creating a cycle of growth and well-being.

Access to essential services remains uneven across Europe, with marked disparities between and within countries and regions. Urban areas often benefit from well-developed infrastructure and a broad range of services, while rural and remote regions frequently face limited availability, higher costs, and greater distances to reach basic facilities.

Rural areas constitute the majority of the EU’s territory and population. Most EU Member States are predominantly rural, with these regions accounting for 75.5% of the EU’s total area and approximately 25% of the EU population (2021, 137 million). This highlights their crucial role as a driving force of Europe’s prosperity. Yet, their full potential can only be unlocked if essential services, such as schools, healthcare, transport, housing and digital connectivity, are guaranteed.

For instance, rural residents face an average 21.5 km journey to access essential services, compared to just 3.5 km for city dwellers. This gap negatively impacts daily life in rural areas and jeopardises citizens’ right to stay, consequently leading to an exodus from rural to urban territories, which, in turn, puts city services under pressure. By 2050, rural populations are projected to decrease by 7.9 million, while urban regions grow by 24.1 million.

In 2021 only 60% of rural households have access to fast broadband internet, significantly lower than the EU average of 86%. Daily internet usage in rural areas stands at 70%, versus 81% in urban areas, creating digital gaps that hinder access to information, education, and employment.

Educational challenges persist in rural regions, with a 19% gap in tertiary education attainment between rural and urban populations. Economically, rural areas fare less favorably, with average GDP per capita reaching only three-quarters of the EU average, underscoring limited economic opportunities and lower income levels. These disparities highlight the urgent need for targeted investment and policy measures to foster rural development and ensure equitable access to opportunities across all regions.

These challenges reflect interconnected barriers to equitable access, shaped by geography, demographics, economy, infrastructure and governance. Remote areas face long travel distances, high delivery costs, and limited transport and digital connectivity, while ageing populations and workforce shortages strain services. Economic constraints and outdated infrastructure further limit quality and reach, and fragmented governance hinders coordination. Addressing these issues requires targeted, place-sensitive solutions, including digital innovation, stronger rural-urban linkages, sustainable funding, and multi-level governance.

Achieving strong growth and cohesion requires a collaborative policy involving national, regional, and local authorities. A place-based approach is essential, ensuring that the specific needs of rural, remote, mountainous, island and sparsely populated regions are fully taken into account.

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Any further questions?

Contact the AER Secretariat – Gisela Cañada at [email protected]