European Pillar of Social Rights to help deepen EMU 

The Workers’ Group of the European Economic and Social Committee recently commissioned a study to explore possible ways of integrating the European Pillar of Social Rights into the roadmap for deepening the Economic and Monetary Union. The study proposes three strategies: increasing the EU budget’s focus on social objectives and creating a social budget for the eurozone; creating a macro-economic stabilisation instrument in the form of an equivalent European unemployment benefit scheme; and finally, establishing a procedure to combat social imbalances.

Although the study argues in favour of a European unemployment benefit scheme which does not interfere as extensively with the competences of the Member States, it leaves no doubt that a set of common standards should be created. In the long term, however, a suitable scheme should not only cushion economic shocks, but also make a lasting contribution to solidarity among the Member States.  

The study was contracted to the European Social Observatory (OSE) which commissioned a team of authors to draw up the report (Sabato, S., et al.)

The study is available here.