European Welfare State Constitutions after the Financial Crisis

BECKER Ulrich , POULOU Anastasia

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Summary

  • Holistic approach and assessment of the social reforms introduced to the social protection systems of states receiving financial aid after the 2008 economic crisis
  • Features experts from the countries involved to tell the story of how social reforms were enacted in their country and the subsequent rulings on their legality
  • Valuable comparative insight for academics, advocates, and practitioners dealing in social law and crisis-related reforms
Hit by the European financial and economic crisis in 2008, several Member States of the European Monetary Union (EMU) were unable to refinance their public debt through the financial markets. As a result, they asked for financial assistance from international institutions and European financial assistance mechanisms. That assistance often came at a high price for citizens, cuts in pensions and social assistance, and controversial reforms in public healthcare. These far-reaching reforms were, in many cases, experienced as violations of people's human rights. National constitutional courts, the Court of Justice of the EU, and the European Court of Human Rights issued a series of rulings on the conformity of the reforms in social protection initiated during the Eurozone crisis.

This book offers a holistic analysis of the specific reforms in social protection introduced during the European financial crisis and their implications for constitutional law. Focusing on the social reforms of nine European countries that were greatly affected by the financial crisis, the volume seeks to address the legacy of the financial crisis on the application of constitutional law and the welfare state.

The book will act as a helpful tool to legal academics interested in the challenges of constitutional and social law initiated by financial assistance conditionality, to advocates in quest of sound legal bases for the protection of individuals affected by social security reforms, and to national and international judges who are confronted with cases that question the legality and legitimacy of the crisis-related reforms.

Table of contents

1:Introduction, Ulrich Becker
2:Human Rights Obligations of European Financial Assistance Mechanisms under EU and International Law, Anastasia Poulou
3:The Transition from Welfare to Workfare in Times of Crisis: A Double-Based Reform of the Hungarian Welfare State, József Hajdú
4:The Latvian Response to its First Economic Crisis under a Free Market Economy, Kristine Dupate
5:Upholding the Welfare State During the Financial Crisis: The Pivotal Role of the Constitutional Court of Romania, Elena-Luminita Dima
6:Salus Rei Publicae Suprema Lex Esto? Welfare State Reforms Before the Greek Courts, Maria Bakavou
7:The Financial Crisis as a Turning Point for Constitutional Rights Jurisprudence: An Assessment of the Absence of Social Rights Protection in the Irish Constitution, Elaine Dewhurst
8:Legal Changes and Constitutional Adjudication in Portuguese Social Law in Consequence of the European Financial Crisis, Jose Carlos Vieira de Andrade, Suzana Tavares da Silva, João Carlos Loureiro
9:A 'Bail-In' of Social Rights? The Cypriot Experience of the Financial Crisis, Constantinos Kombos and Athena Herodotou
10:The Outcome of the Financial Crisis in Italy: A Sea-Change for the Doctrine of Social Rights, Andrea Pin and Matteo De Nes
11:The Predominance of a 'Strong' Economic over a 'Weak' Social Constitution: The Legacy of the Financial Crisis in Spain, Juan Antonio Maldonado Molina and Juan Romero Coronado
12:Conclusions from a Comparative Perspective, Ulrich Becker