Το κοινωνικό κεκτημένο: Πώς εδραιώθηκε, ποιο είναι το σημερινό του περιεχόμενο και ποιες οι προοπτικές του

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to crystallize the content of the concept of the social acquis of the European Union, firstly by investigating the processes that have contributed to its consolidation in the past and then by outlining any transformations that are currently being implemented in this sense, to make assumptions about its future version. Some of the key questions are whether the social acquis in the EU, from its inception to the present day, is homogenous and compact for all Member States and to what extent a balanced coexistence of economic growth and social cohesion and prosperity is achieved, a situation which involves both maintaining and deepening the concept. This paper contributes to the academic dialogue, as it highlights the EU social acquis in the course of time, as it is established in a legal sense, but also through the form it takes in practice. The presentation of this evolutionary process also contributes on a practical level, as it could start mapping actions at both European and national level, which will contribute to the expansion and deepening of the social acquis in the present and in the future. The path towards the consolidation of the social acquis, the presentation of the factors that contributed to its emergence as a significant concept and the institutional interventions at EU level that underpin it, are part of the first chapter of the paper. The European Social Model is also a central concept that concerns this paper, because its connection with the social acquis becomes obvious, with the latter being a determing factor of the EKM. In addition, the weaknesses, that are found to be inherent in the social acquis and raise questions about its content in the present and in the future, are of particular interest. The second chapter of the paper approaches the current version of the social acquis, as shaped by the components of the past, but also by the economic crisis that occurred in Europe in 2008. The social dimension of the Europe 2020 strategy reflects the EU's effort to deal with the effects of the crisis on a social level, but the elaboration of the results of the evaluation of the strategy reveals discrepancies between the Member States, with Greece being an example of a distance from the ambitious goals. Therefore concerns are being raised about the features of discontinuity and inhomogeneity within the EU Member States in relation to the social dimension of European integration. The impacts of the current content of the social acquis and the future challenges as factors that will shape the future version of the concept, as well as proposed solutions for the preservation and deepening of the acquis, are presented in the third chapter of the paper. Finally, the study concludes with the drawing of conclusions and the formulation of proposals for the extension of the social acquis in a uniform way within the EU. The methodology used to answer the research questions was based on European Union sources, with research into its statutes, assessment reports of its institutions, processing of Eurostat statistics, as well as information drawn from online sources. In addition, a review of the relevant foreign language and Greek language literature was conducted.