Gérer l’élaboration des politiques sociales européennes

Trouver le bon équilibre entre la prise de décision au niveau national et au niveau européen est un élément essentiel à une politique sociale équitable et efficace au 21ème siècle. C’est ce qu’écrivent dans une analyse de janvier Andrej Stuchlík et Christian Kellermann, chercheurs au Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES).

The paper recalls that the European Commission’s Renewed Social Agenda, which outlines a framework for European social policies in the areas of employment and social affairs, education and youth, health care and the information society, is a highly contentious issue.

Some believe it « does not go far enough, » whilst others « criticise it for gratuitously increasing the role of the EU, » Stuchlík and Kellermann declare. Given such lack of consensus, it seems that the European social dimension « will continue to be the subject of much political infighting, » the authors say. 

EU social policy « finds itself between a rock and a hard place, » they add. 

On the one hand, Stuchlík and Kellerman say « regulatory competition between member states concerning social standards is increasing, and as a result nation states are losing control and the ability to solve problems ». 

On the other hand, « conflicting interests are preventing possible agreement on the Europeanisation of certain areas of social policy, even where potential benefits might be expected in terms of efficiency and equity, » they state. 

These different positions can be explained by the fact that member states have « different welfare state models » and are either « net contributors or net recipients of substantive social policy in the EU, » the researchers say. 

Moreover, the paper claims that the social dimension « does not have to be enhanced through Europe, » explaining that « protecting and increasing the scope of national social policy is one way of bringing about more equity and efficiency in the EU ». 

The authors assert that « homogenisation, not harmonisation, of welfare outcomes should be the goal of European social policy ». 

Nevertheless, they insist that it should be « conditional upon constitutional and discursive parity of the market in the European Union ». 

« Economic and social policy are not irreconcilable, but complementary parts of a European social market economy that understands social policy as a productive, not a cost factor, » the paper concludes.