Abstract

Since 2015, Jean Claude Juncker has promoted the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) as the central aspect of his new strategy to relaunch the EU social dimension. The Social Pillar has the stated aim to be a «compass» for achieving an «upward social convergence» within the European Monetary Union. In November 2017, the presidents of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission signed the inter-institutional proclamation on the EPSR. This proclamation represents the first political commitment on the EPSR's principles, though its concrete policy outputs are still uncertain. This article traces the development of the EPSR and illustrates some of the main tensions, limits and strengths of this initiative. Finally, the article proposes a research agenda based on three axes which refer to the study of the EPSR as a milestone of the new «social strategy» carried out by the President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker.