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Pochet, P. “Social Priorities under the von der Leyen II Commission”, Brief, Jacques Delors Institute, Decembre 2024

This policy brief is divided into three sections. The first provides a brief review of the previous legislature, a critical exercise that allows us to assess what has been achieved and, more importantly, to identify what remains to be done. The second section highlights the main social objectives of the new Commission, derived mainly from the mission letters of the Commissioners and speeches by Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen. While social policy is not explicitly one of the Commissioners’ core competences, it is not entirely absent from the agenda. A closer analysis reveals potential avenues for action. Finally, in a third section, we will seek to outline what might constitute a new social-environmental pillar, considering the current political lands-cape dominated by a significant majority of centre-right governments.

The interest of conducting a long-term analysis of European social policy lies in its ability to draw lessons from the last six decades, marked by both highs and lows. This historical perspective helps us better understand the present situation. Two periods are particularly worth examining. The first is the end of the Delors II Commission (1991-1995), when most proposals from the 1989 work programme were adopted, but which also revealed a growing difficulty in proposing new measures due to the increasing reluctance of employers to support European social dialogue and social legislation. The second period, the second Barroso Commission (2009-2014), saw a notable political shift towards the centre-right across Member States, the Commission, and the European Parliament. This has paved the way for a period of substantial deregulation at the national level.