At the basis of the behavior of a subject (and thus also of the evaluation of the same subject) is essential the identification of the final objectives – inspired by the values (ethic principles) of the subject – and to distinguish final objectives from intermediate ones, from operational tools and from bonds.
The EU ethical values and final goals are shown in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, the Treaty on EU and the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. Among these, it is that the EU is a social market economy (SME) – a term in itself not clearly identifiable in its content – but that the Article 3 of the Treaty clarifies as “a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress and a high level of protection. This is the basic requirement for the realization of human dignity, the supreme expression of the “common well-being” of any community.
After a depth analysis of the concept of SME, of the three above-mentioned documents and of the EC document named Europe 2020 Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth, is clear that, in the last twenty years, the EU policy management, and even more that of the EMU (Eurozone), have not followed this final objective, but they are mainly related to intermediate goals (such as fiscal consolidation and public finance), which have produced the effect of worsen the economic and social situation (social welfare) of the EU countries, and especially those of the EMU.
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