Balance – Sheet of European Social Policy

• Published in: Estudios de economía aplicada 2009-12, Vol.27 (3), p.591-598
• Main Author: GIL ROBLES, JOSÉ MARÍA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Balance sheets; Best Practices; buenas practices; Common Concern; competencia; Competition; economía social de Mercado; fracturas sociales; interés común; Social Failures; Social Market Economy; Social policy; Subsidiariedad; Subsidiarity
• ISSN: 1133-3197; 1697-5731; 1697-5731

Specific competence of the European Union in the field of social security and social protection has been quite limited, as the Member States consider these two items as core subjects of national policies and appeal earnestly to subsidiarity principle to avoid European regulation. Influence of the E.U. has nevertheless been gradually and considerably increasing through the implementation of the Community rules on the internal market and competition. European social model is the so called “social market economy”, which means, in short, an economy ruled by a market whose transparency and fairness are guaranteed and controlled by the public powers. There is the will, at European level, to be able to achieve high economic and productivity growth, necessary to fuel recovery from crisis damages, while at the same time minimising so-called social failures, such as unemployment, poverty and social exclusion. The European Union addresses these areas as a matter of common concern and has a role in facilitating the exchange of information, data, best practices and research. The balance of European policies is in overall terms rather positive from the social point of view.