ABSTRACT
In 2017, the European Union (EU) celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. Across Europe, a disparate ensemble of anti-EU parties champions the idea of an EU far-removed from its citizens, which takes unpopular political decisions with little regard for the will of the EU citizenry and pursues austerity as well as purely market-based values over social interests. The very idea of the 'social market economy' began to emerge in the EU legal framework long before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, if not from the inception of the EU. EU employment law, social security and social assistance law are primarily focused on facilitating individual free movement as well as preventing discrimination on the ground of nationality. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
