This publication comes out of a conference organised by the EU Finnish presidency in November 2006. The objective of the conference was to analyse the future of European social protection systems and of the European social model (ESM) against the challenges of increasing internationalisation, global competition and an ageing population. Member States remain largely responsible for social policy.

EU competence is limited by the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. However, social policy at national level is increasingly influenced by the European Union (EU), in fact more so than was anticipated 10 years ago. As a consequence of demographic ageing, Member States all face the challenge of modernising their social protection systems.

We are accustomed to examining social and health policy issues from the perspective of individual Member States. Social and health policies are closely linked to national socio-political systems. However, the EU has created a new environment for Member States’ social and health systems. The establishment of the internal market represents both a challenge and an opportunity for Member States’ social and health policies. Furthermore, a number of Community policies, and notably social cohesion, competition, employment and economic policies, have an impact on social outcomes. How can we reconcile the autonomy of national social systems and the growing influence of Community policies on them?

Participants in the conference generally felt that the social dimension of Europe should be strengthened and identified two possible ways to achieve this. On the one hand, the values of the ESM, such as social cohesion and solidarity, should be better taken into account in competition, single market and economic policies at Community level. On the other hand, participants rightly emphasised the need to enhance cooperation between Member States and with the Commission in order to make the social dimension more visible, including in the context of the open method of coordination (OMC).

On 25 March 2007, Heads of State and Government renewed their commitment to preserve ‘our ideal of European society in future for the good of all European Union citizens’ in the Berlin Declaration on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the signature of the Treaties of Rome. The ESM needs to be dynamic and responsive to change. It needs to take account of the expectations of many citizens for a more social Europe: a Europe that protects, a Europe that combines economic success with social responsibility.