INTERGENERATIONAL SOLIDARITY, BETWEEN OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITS FOR SOCIAL POLICIES

Abstract

In the context of the demographic, social and economic evolution in europe in general and in romania in particular, a new guiding principle in the development of social policies is gradually emerging: intergenerational solidarity. Rather, it is a principle of social law in the making, which acquires its own content and a special place in the architecture of the construction of a sustainable social system. The declared aim is to make intergenerational solidarity a remedy that manages, in the most satisfactory way, a whole range of challenges pertaining to a wide range of fields, from economics to climate change, from social work to cultural interconnectivity. The sedes materiae for intergenerational solidarity is represented by art. 3 par. (3) § 2 of the treaty on european union, according to which, "the union shall combat social exclusion and discrimination and promote social justice and protection, equality between women and men, solidarity between generations and the protection of the child's rights", the principle appearing alongside the principle of social cohesion, provided for in the same paragraph. As stated in the european parliament resolution of 9 september 2015 on the report on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the european year for active ageing and solidarity between generations (2017/c 316/15), solidarity between generations is one of the basic principles of a human society but also a key element, a tool, together with active ageing, for achieving the objectives and targets of the europe 2020 strategy with a view to achieving a competitive, prosperous and inclusive europe. At the same time, together with equity between young and older people, intergenerational solidarity represents, in the sense given to it by the green paper on ageing entitled fostering solidarity and responsibility between generations, the completion of sustainable solutions for our social protection system. In social policies, the difficulty is twofold, as it is necessary to design policies, programs and measures that go beyond the limited term of a government mandate, but also to adapt them to the legal concept, that tends to include a new variable: generations that currently do not exist in the paradigm of social policies. However, although the principle of intergenerational solidarity has the advantage of responding to contemporary socio-economic realities, in reason of its being claimed by multiple fields, and thus undergoing continuous mutations, it carries within it, the risk of ineffectiveness. That is the very reason why the european commission is currently carrying out a large consultation to consolidate another - similar - principle, the intergenerational fairness.