In this contribution, the authors address functional or short-term and systemic or long-term effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on European social law and social policy. They focus on the legal and factual status of mobile workers and self-employed persons, the coordination of sickness benefits in kind and cross-border provision of healthcare services in times of a health crisis, and, most notably, on the potential resurrection of the national welfare state that is challenging the further development of the European social model and the European Union’s deeper social integration. Since the epidemic appears to still be in full swing and since Member States ‘anti-corona measures seem to be complemented on a day-to-day basis, the authors‘ deliberations are based on general assumptions regarding free movement of workers and self-employed persons, social security coordination, and the nature of the European social model, coupled with what they perceive to be key challenges posed by the COVID-19 epidemic in the field of European social law and social policy, also affecting, at least indirectly, national rules and policies.

INTRODUCTION

As with other branches of law, social security law was placed in a two-fold position during the current COVID-19 epidemic. On the one hand, a number of social rights were de iure or de facto suspended either at the national level or at the level of the European Union (EU). On the other hand, new social rights or other rights with a social aim were introduced throughout Europe in order to tackle present and future negative effects of the epidemic, such as increased health needs of the population, changed family obligations, higher levels of unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, especially among vulnerable groups, self-employed persons, persons employed on grounds of civil law contracts, etc. Member States (MS) introduced, for example, care time for employees with children and other special family benefits, telemedical consultations, e-medical prescriptions, short-time work, facilitated telework, temporary or partial unemployment benefits, suspension of social security contribution payment obligations, simplified procedures for claiming social rights, special social assistance measures, etc. Proposals on universal access to social and health services and proposals for an universal basic income quickly re-entered the public debate as governments tried to fight increased levels of poverty and social exclusion on the one hand and keep market-demand high on the other.