European Social Model in the 21st Century

Due to the fact that multiple ideologies and different social models exist
in the world today, with different consequences, it appears crucial for the
EU to develop and sustain its model of economic and social regulation.
This paper focuses on the way the European Union develops its social
model in the forthcoming decades. Different models in EU member
states mean that it is not possible to have a unique model so the paper
will look at what the general approach should be. This work is divided
into the following sections; the first section contains the theoretical
approach to the social model and defines it; the second part is devoted
to the European current social politics and the way the EU has been
working in the field of social politics; and the third part looks more closely
at the changes going on in the EU, focusing on the problem of
globalization and new trends, especially into the way families and
intimate relations are changing. This is important because individuals,
lifestyle and the changing nature of the family are crucial for social
politics. The fourth part is devoted to the new trends and expectations,
especially after the Lisbon Agenda and economic crises, and to finding
out the possible consequences they can have for the social model of the
EU. A theoretical approach is combined with the available data so the full
notion of the problem can be presented.