Will 2003 go down in the annals of European integration as a wasted year? One might well think so, given that the adoption of the European constitution has been postponed, the Lisbon objectives are still distant, economic growth is sluggish and unemployment is rising slowly but steadily. Nonetheless, EU enlargement confronts us with fresh challenges, and in this respect 2003 saw a profusion of political ideas. This latest edition of Social developments in the European Union examines the seven challenges currently shaping social debate: the difficulty of establishing true European economic governance, a social dialogue in need of new stability, an employment policy interlinked with economic policy, a strategy to combat social exclusion, reform of the Community institutions, the future of public services, and compliance with/interpretation of European law.

These seven elements help to clarify the contours, strengths and weaknesses of a Social Europe in the making. This entity will undoubtedly look very different in the new Europe of 25, but the key issue will remain the same: a Social Europe can only be built if there is a real founding compromise among its Member States. This compromise will have to be enshrined in economic policies geared to sustainable development and employment, in well-balanced relations between the social partners, and in social protection systems and public services which enable everyone to play a part in society.

This book is also available in French

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