Authors Iain Begg | Gabriel Glöckler | Anke Hassel ... - The Europaeum

in an increasingly global age the “subsidiarity test” cannot be just a choice
between national and EU level, but rather between national, European
and global action.
The third obstacle and perhaps the most important in the long run, is the
giant leap from 15 to 27 member states. The current crisis shows that the
impact of enlargement on the prospects of European integration, and on
Social Europe specifically, has been seriously underplayed. If today’s 27
member states had to start from scratch they would never reach the level
of consensus and policy development of the social acquis: the crisis comes
as a reminder of the striking resilience and achievements of European
integration and welfare regimes, but also of the deep cleavage in political
views, and of the radically different starting points and performance of EU
economies.
The real significance of the German Court ruling on the Lisbon Treaty is not
legal but political: it signals the extent to which the biggest EU country is
now as assertive of its national interests as any other. As I write this paper,
amid increasing signs that the Eurozone is slowly sailing towards lukewarm
recovery rather than great depression, some EU economies are thrilled by
an earlier-than-expected return to growth, just as others suffer a crippling
20% contraction of their GDP. Some countries struggle to keep their
unemployment rates below 5%, others would be very happy to have rates of
three times this figure. From the employment rate of women and older
workers to school drop-outs, one would struggle to find a relevant social
indicator that doesn’t vary radically from country to country. Ignoring the
impact of this diversity was probably politically necessary when doubts
about the trade-off between EU widening and deepening would have been
interpreted as unsubtle obstruction against enlargement; but today it would
be disingenuous to assume that EU policies can be deepened no matter how
many members join the club, or how diverse they are.
The need for Social Europe today
Looking at all these obstacles and constraints, one could be forgiven for
seeking refuge in the safety of declamatory statements on Social Europe,
long on good intentions and short on operational content: as how can
Europe speak with one voice in the midst of the deepest economic crisis
since its inception, when its 27 national economies, social situations and
political realities sing such different tunes?
And yet, as it seeks an exit to the crisis, the EU must find a social role, and
a stronger one than in the past.
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After the crisis: A new socio-economic settlement for the EU