The State of the European Union. The European Parliament faces its most important elections yet

THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 84 social integration that balances the market has not been corrected 2 . The main problem is not only that the EU has brought about too little social progress but that European policy itself has impaired achievements in the social sphere. However, it is crucial to resolve this equation. A social dimension is mandatory for a good functioning of the single market and the mon- etary union. Beyond this “functionals needs”, this is a question of the EU ambition of promot- ing cohesion and upwards convergence. In times of rising populism and Euroscepticism, there is a strong need to re-legitimize the EU project 3 . Myth and symbolic politics Former President of the European Commission Jacques Delors knew that nobody could “fall in love with the single market” and in 1989 put the European social area on the agenda. 4 Since then, the support of trade unions and progres- sive parties for the EU has rested on the hope that more European integration would bring about a more social Europe. So far, however, these hopes have been thwarted. Social Europe is a myth that urgently needs to be debunked. 5 2  Hacker, B.: Nutzung und Nutzen der „europäischen Säule sozialer Rechte“: Bestandsaufnahme und Empfehlungen . Available at: https://www.pw-portal.de/die-krise-der-euro paeischen-union/40851-nutzung-und-nutzen-der-europa eischen-saeule-sozialer-rechte?fbclid=IwAR39kW3FvFE1NL qO2MY-_F0zA5Fv2VaoYtQAWNaJa3leAlEt_bflFjjmQWA 3  Fernandes, S., Vandenbroucke, F.: Europe sociale : du slo- gan à la réalité, 2018. Visto en http://institutdelors.eu/wp- content/uploads/2018/10/Europesocialedusloganalarealite- FernandesVandenbroucke-sept18.pdf 4  https://www.cvce.eu/content/publication/2003/8/22/ b9c06b95-db97-4774-a700-e8aea5172233/publishable_ en.pdf 5   https://www.ips-journal.eu/regions/europe/article/show/ social-europe-is-a-myth-3037/ There is not a specific social policy at the EU level. The social policy remains an exclusive com- petence of the Member States. The EU can leg- islate over minimal rules (ex. the working time directive of 2003) 6 or coordinate policies within a larger common strategy (ex. European employ- ment strategy of 1997). It covers the areas of free circulation of workers, the fight a against discrimination and gender and labour rights. However, the social Europe that has been emerg- ing over the years has a more complicated and vague structure, with a lot of actors involved, which makes it very difficult to evaluate 7 . The Commission responded to the major so- cial problems that were persisting in many EU countries in late 2017. On 17 November 2017, acting on a Commission proposal, the heads of state and government proclaimed and signed the European Pillar of Social Rights at the EU Social Summit in Gothenburg 8 . This document sets out a total of 20 general principles relating to the areas of welfare and employment. The various headings include “equal opportunities and access to the labour market”, “fair working conditions” and “social protection and inclu- sion”. The Pillar primarily describes only the EU’s existing social acquis. In some respects, howev- er, it also goes beyond it. Among other things, it formulates a right to minimum income bene- fits and a right to a minimum wage. 6  Directive 2003/88/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time. Available at https:// eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX: 32003L0088&from=en 7  Béthoux, E.: “L’Europe sociale en chantier(s)”, Revue des idées économiques et sociales , 2015. Available at: https:// www.cairn.info/revue-idees-economiques-et-sociales- 2015-1-page-36.htm 8   https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/deeper-and- fairer-economic-and-monetary-union/european-pillar-so cial-rights_en