Couldn’t Brussels bail out the jobless? | Pier Carlo Padoan

Europe is facing a social emergency. Tackling it requires a common budget and a joint insurance scheme for jobseekers

Despite some signs of recovery, the euro area's economic performance remains disappointing. The lasting impact of the financial crisis exposes a lack of demand, structural impediments to growth and job creation, and flaws in the architecture of economic and monetary union.

Persistently high unemployment rates have led to widespread popular disaffection with the currency in particular, and the European project more broadly. No wonder so many Europeans are now convinced that the way to solve these problems is to unwind integration and retrench behind national borders.

We can either muddle through or we can face up to the challenges in bold and concrete ways

We need to anchor expectations to the irreversibility of the euro, rebuild confidence and restore trust among members

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