EU Social Welfare: Treaties, Policies, and Future Challenges

Posted on Mar 16, 2025 in Business Administration and Management (BAM)

Economic and social cohesion (Title XVII) in Article 158 promotes the harmonious development of the whole community. The EU develops and pursues actions leading to the strengthening of its economic and social environment.

Environment (Title XIX, Article 174)

Goals include conservation, protection, and improvement of environmental quality, protecting the health of people, prudent and rational utilization of natural resources, and promoting measures to solve regional or worldwide environmental problems.

EU Treaty of Nice

Following the Treaty establishing the European Community, the EU treaty known as the Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Nice are significant in terms of social welfare and strengthening social policies.

Article 103 of the Nice Treaty provides that educational services, social services, and human health will be shared competence between the Community and its Member States. Agreements thus negotiated shall be concluded between the Community and Member States. Article 137 mentions efforts to improve conditions for workers:

  1. Improving the working environment to protect the health and safety of workers.
  2. Working conditions: Social security and social protection.
  3. The protection of workers in case of cancellation of the contract.
  4. Information and consultation of workers, as well as representation and collective defense of their interests and those of employers, including co-determination.
  5. The conditions of employment of third-country nationals legally residing in the territory of the Community integration of persons excluded from the labor market.
  6. Equality between men and women in the labor market opportunities and treatment at work.
  7. Tackling social exclusion and modernizing social protection systems.

Green Paper and White Paper

These are pillars of EU social welfare.

  • The Green Paper, adopted on 27 November 1996, highlights two problems that persist even though the establishment of the legislative framework ensures that public contracts should be awarded without discrimination: implementation of that legislation by Member States and the limited economic impact of the policy so far in this area.

Following the EU presented in green livery: Elements of reflection aimed at improving this situation and cause a big debate between the parties involved.

  • The Employment White Paper points out problems that are emerging at present and that will have a great impact in the future. The main aspects to take into account social welfare policy in the EU: Demographic trends (aging population), the fall of the labor market, changes in family structures, new phenomena of poverty and de-structuring social structures (e.g., single-parent families), the globalization of trade and production, and the impact of new technologies.

White Paper on services of general interest of the EU (2004) suggests new directions in pursuit of a policy consistent with diversity and respect for Member States when implementing general interest services. We study the adoption of a horizontal approach with regard to the interests of consumers, monitoring and evaluation of services of general interest, the application of State aid rules to the financing of such services, or the use of Structural Funds to support services of general interest. Member States shall carry out a modernization of general interest services nationwide. We describe a set of guiding principles:

  • Enabling public authorities to operate closer to their citizens while respecting the principle of subsidiarity.
  • Getting public service objectives of quality, affordable and accessible, supporting an open internal market and competitive.
  • Ensuring cohesion and universal access for EU citizens to services of general interest with full coverage and an affordable price.
  • Keep a high level of quality, reliability and security, offering incentives, periodic evaluations, and reports.
  • Securing the rights of consumers and users (accessibility, physical integrity, security…).
  • Identify as principle control and systematic evaluation of the performance of services.
  • Respecting diversity services and situations in which these services are delivered.
  • Increase transparency and provide legal certainty for services of general interest.