
Publication date: 2001
For this second edition of Social developments in the European Union, we have singled out four social policy themes which, to our minds, reflect the main trends of the year 2000. The first is the outcome of the Lisbon summit, and more particularly its impact on the European Employment Strategy. The second subject is an unavoidable one: the Social Agenda, which - at least until its possible revision in 2003 - sets out the European Union's priorities in the social policy sphere. The third major theme is developments in respect of social security, in particular social exclusion and poverty on the one hand, and the future of retirement pensions on the other. The fourth and final section of this report relates to enlargement, which is posing more and more questions especially as concerns its social impact. Our last chapter is devoted to this future conundrum.