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4/11/06

ekathimerini.com : Europe and its social realities

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Europe and its social realities

The inglorious end to the French government’s attempts to reform labor relations affecting that nation’s young people raises some extremely serious issues, particularly considering the intense protests by millions of citizens and widespread social unrest that was sparked by this initiative. Despite this, European leaders have declared their intention to push through structural changes to the economy so that the European Union will be better equipped to perform within an increasingly competitive world economic environment.But European governments are handling the prospect of change in a clumsy, timid and politically shallow way. As a result, large social groups in certain European countries have adopted a negative stance and have been moved to protest.European citizens have refused to disclaim the foundations of the welfare state, at least up until now, and strongly oppose its abolition.

Leaders of the 25 EU states cannot overlook this political reality. It is their duty to plan and implement a policy that will combine — to as great an extent as possible — the needs of the European economy in today’s extremely competitive international environment with the promotion of required changes using political innovations, thus creating a much-needed network of social support for the poorer social strata.

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