In Europe, national and regional parliaments widely recognise citizens’ entitlement to protection in areas like housing, fuel and access to health and social care. But across the continent, growing numbers of people entitled to social benefits never actually receive them.

Complex application processes, burdensome requirements, long waiting times and increasingly digital-only services have made social rights into an obstacle course. The day-to-day reality of navigating these systems has created a stark contradiction at the heart of Europe’s social models: the law recognises rights, but they are exceptionally difficult to exercise.

Our research explores this contradiction, known as “administrative vulnerability”. We have found that growing numbers of people fall through the cracks of the welfare state, not because the law denies them protection, but because the design and inner workings of administrative systems prevent those rights from being exercised.

Over the past decade, the EU has progressively strengthened its social dimension, as illustrated by initiatives such as the 2017 European Pillar of Social Rights, the Commission Recommendation on energy poverty and the European Affordable Housing Plan.

These commitments mirror social reforms and ongoing policy debates in EU member states. Governments in France, Spain, Germany and Ireland, for example, have all taken steps to broaden access to income support, housing assistance and essential services. But these expanded rights don’t just depend on legislative ambition – they also have to translate into administrative practice.

In theory, the EU also protects the delivery of these rights. The “principle of good administration” is enshrined in Article 41 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. It states that “every person has the right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time” by public institutions.

However, such protections rely heavily on public management of resources and administrative support. This means administrative design,........

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