CEPS Ideas Lab session “Building a social safety-net for the post-Covid EU”

The EuSocialCit project recently organised a session during the 8th edition of the CEPS Ideas Lab on the building of a social safety-net for the post-Covid EU. During the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been wild experimentation in social spending, with EU governments have provided huge sums to help record numbers of workers, using ad hoc fiscal measures. Together with Nicolas Schmit (European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, European Commission), Gabriel Bastos (State Secretary for Social Security, Portugal) and Anna Krózser (Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, European Anti Poverty Network), EuSocialCit members Maarten Keune (Professor of Social Security and Labour Relations, University of Amsterdam) and Maurizio Ferrera (Professor of Political Science, University of Milan) discussed whether the EU’s welfare systems have managed to protect citizens against this exceptional shock or whether these are outdated in the face of technological and social change? How can we make the social safety net work again, and what role should the EU play? The session was moderated by Cinzia Alcidi (Director, CEPS), who leads a work package in the EuSocialCit project on empowering through social investment.

The CEPS Ideas Lab is an innovative platform of exchange and co-creation that brings together think tanks from across Europe, representatives of national governments, businesses, NGOs and European institutions. It strives to have open, insightful and impactful discussions thanks to the participation of a diverse group of policymakers, researchers and representatives from industries and civil society.