How can ‘cold and warm solidarity’ be balanced in rich welfare states and what is the role of the EU herein ?
The core diagnosis that triggers this research pertains to three observations: (1) the long lasting disappointing poverty trends in Europe and the structural inadequacy of minimum income protection ; (2) the rising food bank usage which is seconded by the European Union by means of the ‘Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived’ (FEAD) and (3) the attempts to develop a “European Social Union” that should support national welfare states on a systemic level, most recently by the proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR). This raises questions about (a) the balance between ‘cold and warm solidarity’ through respectively delivering on social rights and benevolent social action and (b) the role of the EU herein.
