Social Europe in the Age of Austerity

financial sector. You manage banks in order to reduce the destabilising impact on the economy. You manage pensions and become one of the most important investors — pension funds are now the biggest social investors — and thus the role of the financial sector on the long-term wage of people becomes crucial.

Pensions are about the relationship between individuals and the national economy over time. Social wage is partly paid during your working time and part is paid later. You buy political stability if you distribute the national product on a basis that is seen as acceptable. I am not saying perfect but acceptable, so this basis could change from time to time.

Social policy is about all these issues. If we want a transformation of the European single market, we have to go back to these important issues of the transformative role of social policy.

The single market and its goals The single market that we have been given has been about a social market with a social soul, because the single market has been about economic integration and growth. The idea was that over time the European population would become richer and there would be more social progress. To some extent, some of these ideals have been reached. To some extent, because the economy of Europe was growing and therefore some of the benefits of the growth reached not only the rich but also the poor and middle-income groups.

The core of the single market integration was the liberalisation of the markets. We should not forget this. It was an economic 98