Cambridge-Leuven Euroforum Conference: Social Policy and the EU: Ways Forward

24-25 September 2015

The crisis - and the EU’s response to it - have posed a major challenge to the European social model. Trade unions have obviously been highly critical of what the EU has done but concerns have been expressed by a number of other key players, not least Jean-Claude Juncker, the new President of the Commission. In his opening speech to the European Parliament, he said:

The measures taken during the crisis can be compared to repairing a burning plane whilst flying. They were successful overall. Yet mistakes were made. There was a lack of social fairness. Democratic legitimacy suffered as many new instruments had to be created outside the legal framework of the European Union.

The aim of this conference is to examine the challenges posed by the crisis to the European Social Model (ESM) and, more specifically to focus on what can be done going forward. A first conference was held in Leuven in 2014 to explore some of these themes. The Cambridge conference, to be held on 24 and 25 September 2015, is intended to focus more concretely on a potential policy agenda.

The ESM is a flexible idea which embraces an eclectic range of policies from employment law to the creation of the welfare state, including education, healthcare and social security. The ESM also involves shared values, in particular those listed in Articles 2 and 3 Treaty on European Union (TEU) (including social justice, equality and solidarity) and high standards. It is delivered in part through EU legislative initiatives but also by the Member States and by the social partners at national and sub-national level. As Giddens memorably notes, ‘It has been aptly said that the ESM is not wholly European, not wholly social and not a model.’ The economic crisis has created a major threat to the stability of this rather amorphous ESM. This has led Vandenbroucke and Vanhercke to call for a European Social Union:

Europe needs a Social Union that can support national welfare states on a systemic level in key functions such as macroeconomic stabilisation, and also guide the development of national welfare states on the basis of general social standards and objectives. That would leave decisions on the ways and means of social policy to the Member States. In other words, European countries would cooperate in a union with an explicit social purpose: hence the expression ‘European Social Union’.

Their calls are ahead of the EU’s own thinking. Nevertheless, President Juncker in his speech to the European Parliament, made some positive remarks about the position of social policy in the EU. In particular, he concluded his speech with the promise that:

It is up to us to ensure that the handwriting of the European Social Model is clearly visible in everything we do. Because Europe is the protective shield for all of us who can call this magnificent continent their home.

He developed these ideas in his mandate for Marianne Thyssen, the new Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility:

The economic and financial crisis has had a profound impact on society. Unemployment has reached unacceptably high levels in many parts of Europe, particularly among Europe’s youth. The risk of poverty and social exclusion has also increased. ... Making sure Europeans can fully participate in society and equipping them for modern working life is a key social concern, but it is also crucial for our productivity and ability to compete globally. The sustainability of welfare systems, labour mobility and a greater convergence of labour market performance are also essential for the functioning of the Euro zone and for progressing towards a deeper and fairer Economic and Monetary Union.

The question for this conference is how to make these commitments a reality.

You can download a detailed programme for more information.

Programme details are subject to change.