Occupational safety and health in Europe - state and trends 2023 
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work – EU-OSHA 8 
Foreword by Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for 
Jobs and Social Rights 
 
Occupational safety and health (OSH) has been at the heart of the 
European project since the very beginning. OSH concerns all 
European citizens whether they work in a factory, in an office, sell 
goods in a shop or take care of patients in a hospital. Health and 
safety at work is an essential part of any organisation’s operations.  
This is why EU policy and legislation on OSH, based on both 
scientific and technical evidence and data, is a vital policy area for 
EU society and all of its citizens.  
“Occupational safety and health in Europe – state and trends 2023” is a very important contribution from 
the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU -OSHA). The Agency’s analysis  is also 
particularly timely, as the EU takes stock of progress made under the 2021-2027 EU Strategic 
framework on health and safety at work. 
This publication originates from a European Commission initiative, supported by its tripartite Advisory 
Committee on Health and Safety at Work, to create a comprehensive EU OSH Information System. 
Work in this area started in 2015 and the project was later transferred to EU-OSHA which together with 
the Commission put the information system online under the title of “EU OSH Barometer”.  
This particularly useful tool, notably for the stakeholders in this policy area, provides, on a permanent 
basis, graphical information for significant OSH indicators at EU and national level, drawing on statistics, 
surveys and public data. This first analytical report combines the quantitative data of the EU OSH 
information system with explanatory and analytical descriptions of trends that reach back between 10 
and 25 years. The intention is to repeat this exercise on a regular basis, so that it can provide knowledge 
and insights for safer and healthier work, in an ever-changing world of work, to wider audiences.   
Changes at the workplace, caused by the COVID crisis, the green, digital and demographic transitions, 
as well as by scientific and technological progress, led the Commission to adopt, in June 2021, a new 
2021-2027 EU Strategic framework on health and safety at work.  
The Framework is part of the Commission’s commitment to building a strong social European Union that 
protects. This is the foundation of all the initiatives that we are proposing. Every action we take in social 
policy comes under the umbrella of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan that we presented 
in March 2021. The protection of workers’ health and safety, enshrined in the EU Treaties and in the 
Charter of Fundamental Rights, is one of the key elements of an EU economy that works for people. In 
particular, the right to a healthy and safe workplace is reflected in principle 10 of the European Pillar of 
Social Rights, and is fundamental for reaching the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. Our 
determined action to improve occupational safety and health and to consolidate a culture of prevention 
represents a substantial contribution to the objectives of the abovementioned Pillar.  
The work of EU-OSHA is essential in this respect and this publication is a good example of the strong 
commitment shown by EU governments –  and also employer and trade union organisations -  to 
continuously improve OSH in Europe.  
 
Nicolas Schmit