Europe's Social Model Must Be Modernized

For Europe's social model to survive, the EU has to become economically more dynamic, according to European Commission President Jose Barroso. "Without growth, without job creation, without more dynamism in our economies, we cannot maintain the high levels of social insurance, protection and environmental protection which ... we call the European model," Barroso told EU parliamentarians on Tuesday. "In the services directive ... you will have the possibility of showing us whether this commission is prepared to combine these two sides of the same coin, competitiveness as much as possible but social cohesion as the basis of any action," said the leader of the Socialist group in the parliament, Martin Schulz. Replying to these concerns, Barroso said, "I do not think it is impossible to make the requirements of economic efficiency compatible with the concerns for social justice. It's really a question of modernizing the European model, not throwing it out of the window." (EUobserver.com)