Towards a Just Europe

This highly engaging book puts forward a set of proposals to realize the ideal of distributive justice in the European Union. The author analyses the current institutional setting of the EU, exploring the philosophical reasons why EU citizens and member states have claims of justice towards each other. He proposes a combination of pre-distributive and redistributive instruments to implement the notion of EU social citizenship and to equalise the chances of all member states to succeed in the common market.Concrete policy proposals presented in this book include a threshold of basic goods for all EU citizens, an EU labour code, a minimum EU corporate tax rate and an EU fund for competitiveness. The author also discusses thoroughly the feasibility conditions of his proposals. This book is an action plan for social and political reform in the EU grounded on compelling normative reasons. -- .

Labareda’s book is a rare thing, combining sophisticated philosophical argumentation with concrete policy proposals (including a European minimum income and a harmonized corporate tax). There is no book published to date that is as successful at combining philosophical, empirical, and policy perspectives.
Professor Andrea Sangiovanni, King's College London

Labareda’s argument for distributive justice in the European Union combines a sober analysis of the Union’s institutional features with a bold vision of policies it ought to adopt in order to live up to its social commitments. A must read not only for political theorists but also for EU scholars and social policy actors.
Rainer Bauböck, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna

A novel and sophisticated defence of distributive justice in the European Union. Ambitious and nuanced, Labareda is sensitive to both matters of principle and empirical constraints. His book will be an excellent guide for both political theorists and policy-makers thinking about the future of Europe beyond the nation state.
Professor Lea Ypi, London School of Economics and Political Science

João Labareda is a policy officer at the European Commission. Previously, he was the Chair of the Council Working Party on EFTA and a speechwriter to the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation.

This highly engaging book puts forward a set of proposals to realize the ideal of distributive justice in the European Union. The author analyses the current institutional setting of the EU, exploring the philosophical reasons why EU citizens and member states have claims of justice towards each other. He proposes a combination of pre-distributive and redistributive instruments to implement the notion of EU social citizenship and to equalise the chances of all member states to succeed in the common market.Concrete policy proposals presented in this book include a threshold of basic goods for all EU citizens, an EU labour code, a minimum EU corporate tax rate and an EU fund for competitiveness. The author also discusses thoroughly the feasibility conditions of his proposals. This book is an action plan for social and political reform in the EU grounded on compelling normative reasons. -- .

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