NEW TRENDS ON THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL SECURITY LAW IN THE EUROPEAN UNION (original) (raw)

THE EUROPEAN PILLAR OF SOCIAL RIGHTS: ADDING VALUE TO THE SOCIAL EUROPE

The paper analyses the European Commission's latest major initiative in the social field, the European Pillar of Social Rights, examining the rationale behind this project, the merits and shortcomings of the mentioned proposal. Declared as an initiative that tries to overcome the negative effects of the crisis on the labour markets and social welfare systems, to heal the social wounds of Europe, and to renew convergence within the Euro area, this paper analyses the proposal through the lens of the major challenges that Europe is confronting nowadays, the convergence and divergence trends that we experiment inside the Union. Hence, the paper deals with the following questions: Does this initiative respond to the needs and challenges that Europe is facing today?; Does this initiative envisage policy avenues that encourage social convergence, that are capable of making a decisive impact on poverty, in order to reverse the threat of disintegration that faces the EU today?

Protection of Social Rights as a Permament Challenge for the European Union

Review of European and Comparative Law, 2021

Social rights protection in the European Union has undergone significant development. Currently their protection is regulated by relevant treaty provisions and the Charter of Fundamental Rights (Charter), both of a primary law nature, as well as by the non-binding European Pillar of Social Rights (Pillar). The aim of the paper is the assessment of the social rights protection in the EU, and whether all social rights provided in the CFR have their counterparts in the EPSR, hence whether and in what way the EPSR assists the actual exercise of social rights provided by the CFR. Comparing the content of the above-mentioned legal instruments makes it possible to answer the question whether all social rights provided in the Charter have their counterparts in the Pillar. This can help determine whether the latter affects the implementation of the former. If the answer is in the affirmative, it can further allow for determining in what way the principles of the Pillar assist in the actual e...

The Right to Social Security in the European Constitutions

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2014

This paper, written for the International Labour Organisation looks at social rights, particularly at the right to social security from a constitutional perspective. From this point of view, it explains the historical development of social security law as well as constitutional law in the Czech Republic after 1989. The paper then deals with the constitutional framework of the right to social security and assistance in material need which is later explained in more detail in the light of selected relevant judgments of the Czech Constitutional Court, wherein the impacts of its decision making on the content of social security rights in the domestic legal system is discussed. The final parts of the paper identify through the above mentioned resulting impacts, the possible threats to social security rights in times of economic crisis and provide an assessment of the future of social security rights in light of the Constitution. The paper presents a quite unique perspective from which social security legislation in the Czech Republic has previously been discussed, while at the same time explaining in brief the basic principles on which social security in the Czech Republic are built.

Labour law and social security law: social value in the modern world

SHS Web of Conferences, 2022

The right to work and social security is one of the basic human rights recognized by the international community. The implementation of these rights guarantees the satisfaction of socially significant needs - basic human needs (fundamental physiological needs and safety needs). Thus, a life and a development of a person, social groups and the whole society are ensured. Guarantees for the realization of the right to work and social security are especially important in times of instability and lack of confidence in the future, which is largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the social value of labour law and social security law is currently increasing. The authors emphasize that most of the working-age population can satisfy socially significant needs with the help of stable employment, decent wages, safe and healthy working conditions. However, when social risks affect a person, he or she can be deprived of this opportunity. So, the satisfaction not only of fundamental phys...

The European Pillar of Social Rights: from promise to delivery

Maurizio Ferrera (ed.), Towards a European Social Union The European Pillar of Social Rights and the Roadmap for a fully-fledged Social Union. A Forum debate, Torino, Centro di Ricerca e Documentazione Luigi Einaudi, 2019

In an introduction to a public forum debate on the European Pillar of Social rights, organized by EuroVisions, I argue that we need an effective ‘roadmap for delivery’ of the Pillar of Social Rights, based on the complementarity of existing EU instruments and a well-considered selection of priority initiatives. An effective roadmap requires a good understanding of the Pillar’s rationale. The solemn proclamation of the Pillar in 2017 marks a point of no return: either it will be a recognisable success, or it will be a high-profile failure. Those of us who care about the social dimension of European politics, should now work on an interpretation of the Pillar that maximises its positive potential.

The European Pillar of Social Rights: Too Little, Too Late?

2018

The paper analyses the opportunity, importance, implications and chances of success of one of the leading initiatives of the European Union, namely the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPRS). The conclusion is that, because of a number of economic, political and social phenomena manifested in the European Union among 2007 – 2018, such an initiative is highly opportune and may even represent the key factor in relaunching the European project. The analysis reveals that, due to the legal and financial limitations of the current format of the EPRS, this initiative may represent too little for achieving substantial and sustainable results. At the same time, due to reduced chances of securing tangible results in a reasonably short time, the initiative may come too late for re-connecting the European citizens to the European Union project and for counter-acting the trends towards national and local approaches that have already manifested in some of the member countries.

The Principle of Equal Treatment and the European Pillar of Social Rights

Giornale di Diritto del Lavoro e di Relazioni Industriali, 2018

This article explores the contribution of the European Pillar of Social Rights to the principle of equal treatment. Given that this is an area of EU labour law where there are well-established instruments, it is necessary to consider whether the Pillar makes any significant new contribution. To this end, the article analyses the Pillar's principles relating to: gender equality and work-life balance; equal opportunities, including the inclusion of people with disabilities; and the fair and equal treatment of workers, irrespective of the type or duration of the employment relationship. It identifies instances where the Pillar moves beyond the standards of existing instruments, as well as examples of the Pillar creating momentum for fresh legal interventions. Yet this is coupled with a tendency to rely upon non-binding instruments and it remains within existing paradigms for regulating the European labour market, such as flexicurity.