By Alessandra Silveira (Editor) 

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An omen for 2024: the deepening of the European Social Union (in memory of Jacques Delors)

According to the Eurobarometer published in December 2023[1] – six months before the 2024 European Elections –, more than one third of EU citizens see the fight against poverty and social exclusion (36%) and public health (34%) as the main topics the European Parliament (EP) should prioritise. Socio-economic hardships still affect Europeans’ everyday lives: 73% think that their standard of living will decrease over the next year, of which 47% say that they have already witnessed a reduction. Over a third of Europeans (37%) have difficulties paying bills sometimes or most of the time.

This diagnosis is not exactly new. During the sovereign debt crisis, the German sociologist Ulrich Beck suggested the following: if Europeans want to perceive the experience of integration as something that actually makes sense to them, the way forward is more social security through more Europe.[2] And why is that? Because the social dimension of European integration is at the heart of the legitimate concerns that have been expressed by European citizens.

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