Resocialising Europe in a Time of Crisis

Terms such as 'Social Europe' and 'European Social Model' have long resided in the political and regulatory lexicon of European integration. But arguably, with the inclusion of a 'Solidarity' chapter in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the EU social profile has entered a deep period of crisis. The ECJ judgments exemplify the unresolved tension between the EU's strong market imperatives and its fragile social aspirations while the ongoing economic crisis and the social conditions attached to 'bail out' packages are further indication of the continuing social retrenchment of social rights. The status quo is one in which workers appear to shoulder most of the risks attendant on making and executing arrangements for the doing of work. Chapters in this book advocate a reversal of this trend in favour of fair mutualization, so as to disperse these risks and share them more equitably between employers, the state, and society at large.