A European Social Union after the Crisis, book launch

On September 28, 2017, Metaforum Leuven organized a symposium in which the book A European Social Union after the Crisis was launched. The event gathered together scholars and practitioners in economics, social sciences, philosophy, law and politics. Even if the debate on the topic at stake is not new, the notion of a social Europe still remains vague and elusive. In presenting the chapters of the book, the editors emphasized that a coherent articulation of the reasons behind and the agenda for a European Social Union are highly required. In this regard, the book explores how the notion of European solidarity can be justified and defined, while analysing legal and political boundaries. The presentation of the book was followed by two keynote speeches. Eleanor Sharpston, Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union, and Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affair, Skills and Labour Market, explained how social policies are implemented by the institutions each of them represent and which are the obstacles that they face in crying on this work. The event ended with an interview of Marianne Thyssen, in the presence of Luc Sels, rector of the KU Leuven. _______ *Metaforum is a KU Leuven’s interdisciplinary think-tank that aims to bring together existing scholarship and scientific expertise on various societal issues. It was founded in 2008 to make the KU Leuven’s wealth of scientific and scholarly expertise available to policymakers and the general public. Its aim is to contribute to a well-informed and nuanced societal debate based on solid and independent insights, with a strong focus on an interdisciplinary approach.