Crisis, structural reform and the dismantling of the European Social Model(s)

Abstract

The president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, stated in an interview that the European Social Model (ESM) is ‘gone’. In the same interview he also underlined the need for structural reform as a precondition for renewed growth in Europe. The main hypothesis of this article is that the simultaneous mentioning of the end of the ESM and the need for structural reform was not a coincidence. Structural reforms as adopted during the crisis are threatening the European Social Model(s). This can also be seen in the growth of poverty and inequality in the crisis countries. The article, furthermore, argues that the shift from the Open Method of Coordination to Economic Governance could increase pressure on other countries to introduce similar reforms, further weakening the ESM.