Our welfare states are fundamental in enabling citizens to participate in society and the labour market, to provide freedom and solidarity, to guarantee gender equality and the integration of all groups in society and to protect people from the harshest effects of the financial and economic crisis. Tight budgets, the ageing of our population, mass unemployment, growing poverty and increasing migration flows pose enormous challenges to the sustainability of social security systems. Previous reforms of social security systems have not always contributed to answering those challenges and to more social cohesion.
What policies should we as European socialists and social democrats put forward to protect and strengthen the welfare states and improve living conditions for all people??