This article provides a conclusion to the EJSS Special Issue ‘Discussing strategies for Social Europe: The potential role of EU law in contributing to the Union’s policy objective of fighting poverty and social exclusion’. The contributions to this Special Issue raise a fundamental question: why did European governments fail to deliver on their promise, proclaimed with so much emphasis twenty years ago, to reduce poverty in Europe? It is too easy to say that the one and only problem was the non-binding nature of the social objectives of Lisbon and the antipoverty targets of Europe 2020. There is a broader challenge at the EU level, which goes beyond minimum income protection and directly involves crucial nuts and bolts of the whole welfare edifice: when confronted with severe economic and social shocks, welfare states need an adequate stabilization capacity. This implies that the European Monetary Union becomes a true ‘insurance union’. I argue that one should understand the relevance of the European Pillar of Social Rights from this perspective, and I relate that argument to the contributions to the Special Issue.

中文翻译：

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为了与贫困和社会排斥作斗争，欧盟法律必须支持福利大厦的基本细节

本文为 EJSS 特刊“讨论社会欧洲的战略：欧盟法律在促进欧盟消除贫困和社会排斥的政策目标方面的潜在作用”提供了结论。对本期特刊的贡献提出了一个基本问题：为什么欧洲各国政府未能兑现二十年前如此强调减少欧洲贫困的承诺？很容易说，唯一的问题是里斯本的社会目标和欧洲 2020 年反贫困目标的非约束性。欧盟层面面临着更广泛的挑战，它超越了最低收入保护，直接涉及整个福利大厦的关键细节：当面临严重的经济和社会冲击时，福利国家需要足够的稳定能力。这意味着欧洲货币联盟将成为一个真正的“保险联盟”。我认为应该从这个角度理解欧洲社会权利支柱的相关性，并将这一论点与对特刊的贡献联系起来。