Pensions and the EU: Beyond the Divide between Economic and Social Europe

This paper aims to shed light on the complex map of pensions policy across the EU. One focus will be on the growing role played by European integration in the field (whether through legislation or through other forms of hard and soft coordination), while attention will also be paid to the status quo of the European pension markets. In many countries, occupational funds represent a key institution in social protection, and their role is expected to increase, given the demographic and financial difficulties that elicited considerable public pension retrenchment in Europe. The EU, meanwhile, has intervened to foster completion of the single market for private insurance with a specific reference to pension funds. We aim at assessing the potential impact of the recent economic and financial crisis on the way the EU has framed the main challenges to pensions, and the way single policy dimensions have gained momentum in the EU political and institutional debate.