The latest episode of the Euronews Real Economy magazine* is turning up the heat on Europe’s fuel poverty crisis by focusing on access to essential services, a key principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights. 

With millions of Europeans having to make a desperate choice between eating and heating this winter, Real Economy travels to Bulgaria to see how The European Fund for Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) is helping to support families with a hot meal so they can direct their savings towards their other vital needs. A food bank in Paris, partially funded by FEAD, shows the picture is similar across Europe. During 2020, the fund provided food aid to over 15 million Europeans, a lifeline allowing individuals and families to meet essential needs in all EU Members States.

This episode also features an interview with Andriana Sukova, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and with Thomas Pellerin-Carlin, Director of the Jacques Delors Energy Centre.