A Historical Lens on the EPSR: Continuities and Ruptures in EU Social Policy

This contribution situates the EPSR within the longer historical trajectory of EU social policy, tracing its intellectual, institutional and political origins. By comparing the Pillar to earlier integration moments – from the Social Charter to the Lisbon Strategy and the Europe 2020 agenda – it assesses whether the EPSR has represented a genuine turning point or followed established patterns of social policy-making. The analysis highlights how changing policy paradigms, welfare state debates and crisis episodes have shaped the Pillar’s development and delivery.