Social security law 9 results

In the past decades the coordination of social security provisions of the European Union have become of vital importance. This book gives a clear overview of the main lines and main developments of this significant part of EU law.

The European Yearbook of Disability Law reviews the significant developments at European level regarding disability law and policy.

This Yearbook consists of a review of the preceding year’s significant events, as well as policy and legal developments within the institutions of the European Union. It reviews major EU policy developments, studies and other publications, legislative proposals, and case law from the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.

The position of non-EU migrants in social security is problematic. Many European states reduce access to social benefits for categories of migrants whose presence is not desired. At the same time the scope of application of the national systems is becoming more confined to the national borders, as, for example, countries take measures to reduce the exportability of benefits. These two trends of exclusion and retrenchment particularly affect irregular immigrants and persons moving between Europe and developing countries who are not protected by any bilateral social security agreements.

Within the European Union, social security basically remains a national field of competence. The lack of common norms has paved the way for a large disparity in social protection between EU Member States, which is not conducive to the European single market. Moreover, it may lead to an increase in poverty and social exclusion and intensify economic competition between Member States. At the same time, almost all EU Member States are bound by one or more international social security instruments developed by the ILO and by the Council of Europe. This book analyses the international standards, followed by the case studies of the Czech Republic and Estonia.

In recent years, many academics and policymakers have argued that the welfare state needs to be modernized. It is claimed that social protection systems still largely reflect the ‘old social risks’ created under industrial capitalism and that they need to be adapted to the ‘new social risks’ that have developed with the transition to post-industrial society. This book addresses some of the challenges for social protection posed by these demographic, social and economic transformations.

This book sheds an innovating light on the relations between EU and non-EU countries and nationals, as far as social security is concerned. These are dealt with in a number of contributions by eminent international experts.

The book opens with an introduction to the conventions and then presents contributions of experts working for various organisations which are of extreme importance for the implementation and understanding of standards: the Committee of Experts of the ILO, the Council of Europe, a national government, university professors, a judge, a government advisor from an East European country, and a trade union. The book concludes with a chapter in which the contributions are put into perspective. As a result, the legal meaning and interpretation of the standards is approached from various angles in a unique way.

What is the meaning of the “right to social security” for the world of today, at times of neo-liberalism and globalization? Which entitlements can individual citizens derive from this right? What is meant by “social security”? Is it only about minimum benefits, or also about income maintenance? Does it include assistance? Health care? Housing? Social services? hose are the crucial questions that are discussed in this book which brings together the views and opinions of numerous specialists in social protection of all disciplines and from all parts of the world.