At the present time, the projected scenarios of how Europe may develop in the future do not appear to be very promising. All the chapters in this book start with the observation of demographic and social change due to a continuously increasing life expectancy and a continuously decreasing fertility rate in the majority of European countries. All of the authors go on to explain that these changes will challenge societies at several levels of the socio-ecological context. The sustainability and distribution of public resources in various domains will be affected by these changes at the societal level, and this may have an impact upon the quality of exchanges and relationships at the family level. As a result, investment in work and employment, education and training, social security and health care provision – to name just four major areas of social policy – is facing challenges in all European countries. It also seems that this process is (sometimes) accelerated by economic globalisation which links national economies to the international market in such a way that the national GDPs and – associated to this – social security and welfare will depend more and more on the economic power of the individual nation.

Europe currently thus faces one of the most demanding tests of its cohesion and economic collaboration since the introduction of the Euro, if not since the foundation of the Union. Some European countries are experiencing dramatic increases in unemployment, especially in youth unemployment, along with cutbacks in salaries, pension systems, health provision and reduced investment in education at all levels. On the other side, the liquidity of banks and especially investment banks is saved and guaranteed by national households, that is, by tax money, because of the system relevance that they are assumed to have. ‘System relevance’ – a new composite term of the early 21st century – describes the interconnectedness of the national and international financial system, which may lead to a domino effect; in other words, the insolvency of one ‘domino piece’ may lead to the instability and possible breakdown of the whole system.