The EC and Social Security: State of Affairs and Future Prospects

In the field of coordination of national social security systems, the European Community has realized a great deal. These systems have had to be linked and attuned to each other in such a way that obstacles to the free movement of workers within the Community are removed and new obstacles are prevented. As early as 1 January 1959, Regulations 3 and 4 entered in force. In 1971-72 they were replaced by Regulations nos. 1408/71 and 574/72 which, after having been repeatedly amended, are still in force. However, 1992 and European integration in general will mean that coordination at Community level will still have to be strengthened and extended.
On the other hand, hardly any progress has been made in the field of harmonization of the national social security systems - the exception being the equal treatment of men and women. By harmonization is meant the integration of the national social security systems. It concerns something between the maximum, i.e. the total unification of the national social security systems, and the minimum, i.e. the mutual coordination of those systems. It can best be described as: a more harmonious, convergent, analogous type of development through approximation on the way of progress. In the finalization of the Single Act, the Commission was not in a position to change the situation. Fortunately, not long afterwards the social dimension of 1992 received a great deal of attention and the prospects for social policy and also for social security are far more favourable, particularly now that European integration will hopefully receive a strong impulse from the two Intergovernmental Conferences on Economic and Monetary Union and on Political Union respectively. But then, these new opportunities have to be grasped. In the opinion of the author, however, the approach chosen by the Commission in the Action Programme related to the implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Social Rights is not quite satisfactory.