Towards Ten Years of the European Pillar of Social Rights

forthcoming

"In 2017, at the Gothenburg Social Summit, the European Union took a significant step towards the idea of being a “Social Europe” with the adoption of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR). The EPSR translates into a more tangible and concrete dimension the ethos of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights adopted in 2009, in particular the titles “equality” and “solidarity”. The EPSR does not create new competencies for the EU in the realm of social rights and policy nevertheless its significance lies in fostering the progressive development of a ""Social Europe,"" as a dynamic and evolving process. TOPs aims to offer a teaching activity in the form of an international interdisciplinary summer programme for early-career scholars with backgrounds in sociology, law, and other social sciences. Its purpose is to provide an opportunity to critically analyse the EPSR - which in 2027 will reach its first decade – as both a translation and an engine of a European social agenda: 1. In 2026, the programme will focus on the history of ""Social Europe"" and the role of the EPSR in shaping the (in)direct competencies of the EU in social matters; 2. In 2027, it will examine the process of implementation of the EPSR in its first decade paying attention to the complex governance of the European social agenda; 3. In 2028, it will address the future challenges facing Europe and the specific contribution of EPSR in the enforcement of “Social Europe”. The project will involve civil society in two ways: 1) by making stakeholders at international, national, and local levels participate in the summer programme activities; 2) by organising two workshops where stakeholders will engage with academics to foster shared knowledge and debate on the future of the development of the European social agenda in the light of EPSR’s principles. In this way, TOPs aims also to contribute to the implementation of social rights and to EU policymaking process. "