Is there such a thing as Social Europe?

Although the EU developed a “Social Europe”, the economic crisis put in evidence the imbalance between the social and economic dimensions of the European project. In this tribune, Sofia Fernandes and David Rinaldi start with a brief discussion on the construction of the social acquis in order to answer the following questions: Why must Social Europe be reinforced today? How do we draw the strategic lines for a new, more social Europe? What initiatives must take priority in order to achieve a “Triple A” in the social domain?

The authors advocate for a horizontal approach to “social Europe” rather than building up a pillar. In particular, they call for:

• Restoring socio-economic convergence,
• Guaranteeing fair mobility,
• Supporting a human capital investment policy.