Round Table. From Lisbon to Porto: taking stock of developments in EU social policy: Social Europe 2.0? New prospects after the Porto Social Summit

The sequence of crises in the 2010s entirely changed the socio-economic context that had inspired the Lisbon strategy in the year 2000. EU policy veered towards austerity and social policy became an ‘adjustment variable’. Since the mid-2010s, however, a slow process of rebalancing has gained ground, culminating in the adoption of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) in 2017. The Porto Summit has confirmed the centrality of the Pillar for a new Social Europe. To appreciate fully the EPSR’s potential, it is necessary to focus not only on binding measures but also on EU incentives and actions aimed at promoting (and partially funding) concrete access to social rights. Especially through the ‘guarantee’ instrument, the EU can play a bigger and more effective role in the sphere of social citizenship, without stumbling into the political obstacles associated with hard law.