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

irrespectively of benefit and costs, only because transactions can be
measured without quarrel and well-being can’t. But well-being, not
economic transactions is what matters in the end: the real challenge for
Social Europe is to improve the material conditions of the lives of
Europeans through a model that doesn’t rest on the illusion of naturally
efficient world markets and plentiful natural resources.
There is no intrinsic contradiction between an efficient, dynamic economy
and one that places social justice at its core. The achievement of the former
rests on the latter. But economic growth alone does not automatically lead
to a reduction in income inequalities, in-work poverty or regional
disparities and not everybody can be incorporated in the labour market.
Investment in labour market modernisation, skills upgrading and
innovation can provide high returns in growth, productivity and
employment − but strengthening Social Europe also implies difficult
choices between efficiency and equity, and a meaningful degree of
(financial) solidarity between member states. In this respect, the case for
Social Europe and for a stronger Union in the next decade remains to be
made, and progressive political parties still have to find a coherent
narrative for the role of the State and welfare in the XXI century.
There is more. While Europe sometimes tends to preach and irritate its
global partners on a range of issues, it has to be reiterated that in the
employment and social field, more than in any other perhaps, the EU
represents the aspiration for a world governed by law. The current crisis
offers an opportunity to strengthen the Union’s sphere of influence in an
increasingly interdependent and multi-polar world, and shape globalisation
in a sustainable manner. While recognising the diverging employment,
social and economic realities, the EU strategy for 2020 should push for
the exchange of experience and cooperation towards a common
international agenda for sustainable development, focused on free and
productive employment with a rights-based approach and access to
minimum social protection; on social dialogue; on antidiscrimination and
gender equality. In return, the EU may gain some of the vitality and
confidence about the future that is so pervasive in emerging economies
from Brazil to Turkey and China - and so conspicuously absent in Europe.
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After the crisis: A new socio-economic settlement for the EU