Abstract

The crisis that fell on Europe in 2008 was a shock not only in the economic sphere. It hasalso led to a breakdown in the faith of many EU citizens that integration processes also ensuresocial dimension. Jean-Claude Juncker, who in 2014 headed the European Commissionunderstood this. In March 2015, he announced that a new opening for social dialogue (NewStart for Social Dialogue) is needed, and that the work on the initiative of the European Pillarof Social Rights has started. The implementation of the Pillar is the responsibility of theEuropean Commission, the governments of the Member States and the social partners at bothnational and EU level.The pillar is not legally binding, it is a recommendation from the European Commission. Thepillar is based largely on the existing social acquis, but it should be clearly stressed that thereare areas in which it extends beyond the existing scope of both "hard" and "soft" regulations,for example in the area of social rights of self-employed people.It would be trivial to say that the success of Pillar will depend on the political will of theMember States and the European Commission. Previous experience with the implementationof directives, which are to directly "result" from the implementation of Pillar, allows for verymoderate optimism.