Rethinking social security in the European Union: Extending fundamental universal rights

Abstract Beyond the threat of systems of social protection in the European Union contracting, the issue arises of their restructuring and alignment. Given the common challenges they all face (ageing populations, family instability, unemployment, social exclusion and job insecurity), the priority for the reform debate is the redefinition of fundamental rights and the need to draw a distinction between conditional and universal rights. This article emphasizes the need to combine social security's redistributive and integration functions on the basis of three principles: the activation of benefits; the individualization and universality of certain rights; and the promotion of equality of opportunity across the life cycle. If applied to all member States, this approach would in addition facilitate convergence among their social security systems.