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Last Tuesday [1 December], our member SOLIDAR organised a conference in the library of the European Parliament to launch its book, “Progressive Structural Reforms – Proposals for European reforms to reduce inequalities and promote jobs, growth and social investment”. Building on the findings of the Social Progress Watch Initiative, SOLIDAR decided to move one step beyond assessment, and to engage in concrete proposals for progressive structural reforms.

This volume presents some key results of the Social Progress Lab 2015, whose main strength is probably to involve independent academics alongside policy-makers or civil society organisations in the reflection on Social Europe. They bring both their creativity and expertise in a domain where it is critical to constantly renew our ideas to capture the rapid evolutions going on on the ground. The book provides a comprehensive set of proposals for reforms, with chapters dedicated to various issues such as basic income, social investment, and the potential risks for labour rights linked to the ongoing negotiations of the EU-US trade agreement known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Nevertheless, as Green Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Philippe Lamberts explained, the main obstacle to social progress is probably political. The work of the “last-chance” Commission that would achieve a “social triple A” for Europe is not very encouraging, to say the least. The Annual Growth Survey 2016 is still largely focused on the concepts of flexibility, gains in productivity and fiscal consolidation; the labour mobility package has been postponed, and we doubt whether its content will go in the right direction; and the Europe 2020 Strategy seems not to be a priority anymore.

Far from indulging in defeatism, however, this book brings to the table concrete propositions for change. As Agnes Jongerius MEP (S&D) said, we cannot let European citizens think that “there is no alternative”, and the work of SOLIDAR is a key contribution in this regard.

The next step will be to raise public awareness and to gain large support for these proposals. Participatory democracy is a powerful tool whose impact should not be underestimated.