OPPORTUNITIES FOR ASSESSING THE DYNAMICS AND THE COHESION PROCESS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE EUROPEAN PILLAR OF SOCIAL RIGHTS

Author(s):  
Margarita SHOPOVA ◽  
Tihomir VARBANOV ◽  
Evgeni OVCHINNIKOV

The article clarifies the essence of the indicators that characterise the principles on which the European Pillar of Social Rights is built, and the information provision of their statistical survey is presented. Official statistics published by Eurostat are used. The objective internal regularities of the time series for Bulgaria for the period 2005-2018 are established by using the autodetermination coefficient, while the viability of constructing univariate models for forecasting purposes is assessed. A cluster analysis has been applied for 2010 and 2018, as a result of which homogenous groups of EU countries have been established and the factors most significant for their formation have been identified. The survey is a preliminary assessment of both the dynamics of the indicators for Bulgaria and the social cohesion in the EU. The derived results can serve as information and analytical bases both for identifying appropriate methods for convergence analysis and for revealing the possibilities of cluster analysis for its evaluation.

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (100) ◽  
pp. 849
Author(s):  
Miguel Agudo Zamora

Resumen:Este trabajo analiza la situación en el modelo constitucional español del principio de no regresividad de los derechos sociales. Se parte del análisis sucinto del modelo social de nuestra Constitución lo que implica el reconocimiento de derechos económicos y sociales. Este reconocimiento es la plasmación constitucional de los principios de solidaridad y de cohesión social. El principio de cohesión social ha sido definido por el Consejo de Europa e incluido explícitamente en los tratados constitutivos de la Unión Europea. La necesidad de lograr la cohesión social fundamenta la inclusión en las Constituciones y en los tratados internacionales del principio de no regresividad de los derechos sociales. En la Constitución española de 1978 este principio no se incluye expresamente. La no inclusión en la Constitución de este principio supone un peligro para la cohesión social en tiempos de crisis económica. Por su parte, el Tribunal Constitucional ha sentado una doctrina ambigua sobre este asunto, que ha sido analizada en este trabajo, así como las más significativas aportaciones doctrinales sobre la materia. Para saber cuáles son los limites de la regresividad de los derechos sociales que dotan de contenido este principio se ha realizado una comparativa internacional y de los principios constitucionales. Del estudio del ordenamiento internacional y de los valores y principios constitucionales se ha obtenido una serie de límites a la regresividad del contenido, eficacia y protección de los derechos sociales. Concluye este trabajo sugiriendo una propuesta de reforma constitucional que incluya el principio de no regresividad de los derechos sociales en el texto constitucional estableciendo una serie de requisitos de aquellas medidas que puedan suponer una regresión de contenido de los mismos tales como que deberán justificarse plenamente en referencia a la totalidad de los derechos, valores y principios recogidos en la Constitución y en los tratados internacionales suscritos por el Estado español y en el contexto del aprovechamiento pleno del máximo de los recursos de que se disponga; se aplicarán tras el examen más exhaustivo de todas las alternativas posibles; tendrán en todo caso carácter temporal hasta que las circunstancias económicas permitan restablecer el ámbito material de contenido, eficacia, protección y garantía prexistente de los derechos sociales afectados; en todo caso respetarán el contenido mínimo esencial de los derechos sociales como manifestación de la dignidad humana; serán razonables y estarán suficientemente motivadas; no vulnerarán, entre otros, los principios de seguridad jurídica, confianza legítima, no discriminación e irretroactividad de disposiciones restrictivas de derechos individuales, serán proporcionadas y respetarán los principios de solidaridad, cohesión y sostenibilidad social. Summary1. State, solidarity and social cohesion. 2. Doctrinal and jurisprudential notes on the principle of non-regressivity of social rights. 3. Limits to the regressivity of social rights. a) Limits derived from international law. b) Limits derived from dignity as essential content of social rights. c) Limits derived from the prohibition of arbitrariness: the need for sufficient motivation. 4. Conclusion: constitutionalamendment and non-regressivity of social rights.Abstract:This paper analyzes the constitutional recognition of the principle of non-regressivity of social rights in Spain. It starts from the succinct analysis of the social model of our Constitution which implies the recognition of economic and social rights. This recognition is the constitutionalization of the principles of solidarity and social cohesion. The principle of social cohesion has been defined by the Council of Europe and explicitly included in the constitutive treaties of the European Union. The need to achieve social cohesion underpins the inclusion in the Constitutions and international treaties of the principle of non-regression of social rights. In the Spanish Constitution of 1978 this principle is not expressly included. The non-inclusion in the Constitution of this principle poses a danger to social cohesion in times of economic crisis. For its part, the Constitutional Court has established an ambiguous doctrine on this subject, which has been analyzed in this work, as well as the most significant doctrinal contributions on the subject. In order to know which are the limits of the regressivity of the social rights that give content of this principle an international comparison has been made as well as a study of constitutional principles. Limits to the regressivity of content, effectiveness and protection of social rights have been obtained from the study of international order and constitutional values and principles. This paper concludes by suggesting a proposal for constitutional amendment that includes the principle of non-regressivity of social rights in the Spanish Constitution establishing some requirements of those measures that imply a regression of their content such as: they shall be fully justified in relationship with all the rights, values and principles contained in the Constitution and in the international treaties signed by the Spanish State and in the context of full exploitation of the maximum resources available; Shall be applied after a more comprehensive examination of all possible alternatives; Shall in any case be of a temporary nature until the economic circumstances permit the restoration of the content, effectiveness, protection and pre-existing guarantee of the social rights affected; In any case they will respect the essential minimum content of social rights as a manifestation of human dignity; Shall be reasonable and sufficiently motivated; Shall not infringe, inter alia, the principles of legal certainty, legitimate expectations, non-discrimination and non-retroactivity of provisions restricting individual rights; Shall be proportionate and shall respect the principles of solidarity, cohesion and social sustainability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-19
Author(s):  
Luis Jimena Quesada

The author highlights the paradoxical evolution of CJEU’s case-law in the field of social rights and how in the past, it has played a praetorian role in a context of implied powers and modest EU primary legal provisions whereas now, it is showing clear self-restraint under explicit competences and an evolved EU primary law [including the Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFREU)]. From this perspective, the author proposes the opening of the CJEU to the new framework of the European Pillar of Social Rights, as part of the broader Turin process for the European Social Charter, through positive judicial willingness (by taking into account the synergies between the EU and the Council of Europe – including the case-law from the European Committee of Social Rights).


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ane Aranguiz

Implementing fiscal consolidation measures without first considering social stabilisers has led to turn what originally was an economic recession into a social crisis too. The economic and social divergences in Europe have increased to a point where the future of the social dimension of the EU has been put into question. There is however, a provision in the Treaties that obliges the EU to take into account social issues in all its policies and activities, namely, the so-called horizontal social clause enshrined in Article 9 TFEU. The potential of this clause to mainstream the social dimension of the EU and foster balance between social and economic policies has, however, not yet been untapped. The recently launched European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), which aims at achieving a highly competitive social market economy, brings to the table a number of rights-based objectives along with a number of indicators that might shed some light over the constraints faced by the horizontal social clause. This article aims at unravelling the potential of the horizontal social clause in envisioning parity between the social and the economic and providing a social pillar to the EU. This contribution provides first a legal analysis of Article 9 TFEU and it briefly discusses the problematic behind its poor implementation. Later, the potential of the horizontal social clause is discussed in the light of the current developments in the framework of economic governance. This article also suggests a number of scenarios where social mainstreaming should be duly implemented. It suggests that Article 9 TFEU may have an important role, in particular, with regard to austerity measures when envisioning it together with the EPSR.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo de Pedraza ◽  
Marcos Álvarez-Díaz ◽  
Marcos Domínguez-Torreiro

Abstract Flexicurity is the combination of more flexibility for employers and more security for workers. It is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that lacks a well-developed monitoring framework or a statistically consistent grouping of the indicators. First, this paper proposes a conceptual framework by building upon the Wilthagen and Tros (2004) flexicurity matrix and the Danish Golden Triangle. It constructs flexicurity “drivers” by pooling together variables that are conceptually related to each other and a specific type of flexibility or security. Then, it obtains statistically consistent aggregate measures for each driver and selects three drivers that represent the three corners of the Danish “golden triangle”: external numerical flexibility, employment security, and income security. It conducts an empirical analysis on the evolution of the selected flexicurity drivers over time and across European Union (EU) countries and on the relationship between selected flexicurity drivers and social outcomes from the Social Scoreboard of the European Pillar of Social Rights. It finds evidence of convergence on external numerical flexibility and polarization on employment and income security across the EU. It finds that higher flexibility at the onset of the crisis contributed to a reduction in the unemployment rates after the crisis, while a more generous welfare system contributed to reducing poverty. Employment security, however, appears to be linked to the presence of higher levels of income inequality after the crisis.


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Hussain

The Nørrebro sub-district of Copenhagen, where 14% of the population belong to ethnic minorities, mainly Muslim, has stood on the Danish media’s agenda for many years as a problem-ridden area, developing into a parallel society with ethnic ghettos, crime and deviancy among the second generation and lack of social cohesion and integration. This article introduces results from the survey ‘At Home in Europe: Muslims in the European Cities’ commissioned by the Open Society Institute, which examines the current policy and patterns of Muslim integration in eleven municipal districts of the seven metropolises of the EU countries. It argues that when measured across a range of parameters to ascertain the social, cultural and economic integration of the Muslim minorities, the empirical data and the documentary evidence gathered from, and about, the sub-district (2008-9) contradict the political claims and the media rhetoric of a parallel society.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 484-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herwig Verschueren

The posting of workers between Member States of the EU has increased dramatically over the past decade. It has led to political and legal discussions on the employment and social rights of these workers during their temporary employment in the host Member State. As far as social security is concerned, these workers remain subject to the social security system of the sending Member State, provided that a number of conditions are fulfilled. Still, the application of these conditions and control of their observance did not turn out to be efficient and was even rendered problematic by the case law of the CJEU on the meaning of the so-called posting certificates. This article takes a closer look at the role of these certificates. It the analyses and discusses the case law on this and formulates some critical comments on it.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 163-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Benedi Lahuerta ◽  
Ania Zbyszewska

This article discusses the evolution of European Union (EU) legislation and policymaking methods during the 10 years since the onset of the financial and economic crisis in 2007/2008. In the EU, this period has been characterized by politics of stimulus, austerity, and recovery. Against the backdrop of longer term developments in equality law, we consider how the crisis context influenced this field’s evolution. Through the analysis of a range of legislative and policy proposals, we show that the progressive softening or hybridization of equality law over this period has gone hand in hand with the stronger articulation of equality objectives in terms of a “business case.” While this approach appears to have enabled the proliferation of policy and legal instruments and expanded the reach of equality law into areas where the EU has limited competence to legislate, it has also elevated instrumental economic goals for action at expense of human rights or social rationales. This longer term tendency is also present in the recently adopted European Pillar of Social Rights, and the accompanying policy documentation, which have been hailed as carrying potential to infuse more coherence and to rebalance the social and economic rationales that the EU integration project has unevenly promoted over the years. Mindful that it is still too early for conclusive judgments, we suggest, however, that the transformative possibilities the Pillar carries are likely to be undermined by its soft and economically oriented thrust.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 701-728
Author(s):  
Ján Dobrovič ◽  
Rastislav Rajnoha ◽  
Petr Šuleř

Research background: Tax evasion is an urgent challenge for governments, as reaching sufficient level of tax revenues enable adequate sustainable economic development. The motivation for the research was thus the identification of the situation in the EU countries.  Purpose of the article: The main research objective was to identify the extent of tax evasion in the EU countries, with a subsequent specific focus on the econometric predictive models and a forecast of their future development in the case of Slovakia as the poorest performing country of the V4 in this area.  Methods: The research was primarily based on testing selected statistical indicators in the field of tax evasions expressed on the basis of the VAT gap. The data for the research was obtained from the EUROSTAT database and the international system VIES for the period between 2000 and 2017. In addition to panel graphs, the research hypotheses were tested primarily using a cluster analysis, t-test, time series analysis, and an analysis of the time series trend with 4 basic models: linear trend, quadratic trend, growth curve model, and S-curve model. On the basis of the Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), the S-Curve model was selected as the determining model of predicting tax evasion.  Findings & value added: Based on the results of the cluster analysis, the EU countries were divided into five reference groups by the VAT gap value, using the VAT gap percentage share on the overall GDP value. The research also provides a unique methodological framework and a unique econometric model for predicting the future VAT gap in Slovakia as the poorest performing country of the V4 in this area, which is applicable to other V4 and EU countries. The research results also enable policy-makers in the EU countries and specifically also in Slovakia and other V4 countries to compare themselves explicitly with the reference countries of the EU in terms of tax evasion and subsequently adopt adequate measures to improve the effectiveness and performance in this field.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 210-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sacha Garben

An assessment of the ‘European Pillar of Social Rights’ by reference to its constitutional significance – Potential to significantly improve the social output of the EU by addressing the displacement of the Social Policy Title of previous years – Incapacity to redress the constitutional imbalance between ‘the market’ and ‘the social’ in the EU legal order – Continuing displacement of the (national and European) legislator in the internal market and economic governance


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