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In the context of ensuring sustainable economic development, SDG 8 involves the promotion of a sustainable, inclusive and resilient economy based on increasing economic productivity through diversification, the application of new technologies and green economy concepts, which provide safe, decent and properly remunerated jobs, with focus on gender equality and youth inclusion. This study aims to outline a series of specific aspects, achievements and challenges for SDG 8 in the Romanian economy.

The circular economy marks a significant evolution in the global approach to production, consumption, and waste management. Furthermore, its core principles have become increasingly critical as their implementation has increased by leading actors of the transition to the green economy, and especially within business activities. This study provides researchers and practitioners a qualitative analysis of the new circular economy principles adopted by companies, and in particular by multinational corporations, also included in their strategies and business models.

Sustainable growth and job creation in European countries depend, perhaps more than ever, on excellence and innovation, which are the determining factors for the development of a sustainable economy. In this context, the role of the private sector that promotes and develops innovative solutions has become essential, especially since innovation is not limited to production processes, but can encourage and support new business models. At the same time, at the institutional level, concerns regarding the promotion and consolidation of innovation have intensified in recent years, being supported by broad strategies and action plans in all European states.

At the EU level, the transition to a more circular economy by reducing the demand for primary resources and energy has the potential to increase resilience, reduce dependence on energy and material imports, while contributing to the transition to clean energy. Thus, increasing the use and supply of secondary raw materials as essential production factors for a wide range of activity sectors within the EU economy will facilitate the achievement of sustainable development targets in the future. In this sense, the aim of the paper was to study the structure and the dynamics of the Romania’s trade, both import and export, in recyclable raw materials as a member state of the European Union. The analysis sought to highlight the main structural and quantitative changes occurring in the period 2004-2021, as well as Romania's position both in relation to the other member states and the EU average, taking into account the fact that the transition to the circular economy differs from one country to another.

Since their founding at the end of the XIXth century, the mining companies that have extracted coal in the Jiu Valley have tried to guarantee, though a private system of social security, pension rights for all of its employees, workers as well as clerks. This private system of social security would perpetuate itself, in the case of clerks working for Valea Jiului mining companies, though the interwar years up to the instauration of the Communist regime, when another pension scheme was established for those employees in the workforce. In this study we will seek to uncover the way in which these mining companies’ clerks’ Pension Houses were constituted and functioned after the First World War. They would operate on the basis of their own rules/statutes, would be under the leadership of a Committee chosen among the members of the Pension House, but also under the supervision of the Administrative Council of the mining company. Due to the levies placed upon their members, subsidies given by the mining companies, and other income, the Pension Houses managed throughout the entire period in question to guarantee honorable pensions for their members, and also for their widows and descendants.

We are a consumer society. Today the trade has a significant share in the GDP of all countries worldwide. Within the commercial activity a special importance has the retail trade, that commercial link which addresses to the final consumer. In Romania, this activity is attractive for both small entrepreneurs and large international retail chains, whose market studies have shown that their entry on the Romanian market will be profitable for their business. The level and the dynamic of retail trade was analyzed in this paper on a time horizon which included the period immediately following the onset of the economic crisis in 2008 but also the period in which Romanian economy as a whole as well as the trade entered an new uptrend. The indicators used for the analysis were to the value of the retail sales by main commodity groups, the volume indices of this activity as well as the structure of the branch network which perform retail trade activity.

From the historical point of view, the cooperatives have emerged as initiatives of some groups of people or some collectivities, initiatives that were based on economic and social aspects. Over time, the cooperatives have taken new forms, reaching today as their structure to include a plurality of types of cooperative entities, the list being opened to any new initiatives. Regardless of the types of cooperatives contained in an national cooperative system or another, there are countries where their contribution to overall economic and social development is very important. Globally, their contribution to the employment growth, to the welfare of the people and especially to the sustainable economic development is undeniable.

In the current context, marked by a profound insufficiency of resources with regards to the needs of mankind, the application of principles and efficient models of the circular economy needs to become a constant and sustained concern of every member state of the European Union. Therefore, Romania, a full member of the European Union, needs to align its circular economy objectives with the ones of the Union, transitioning from the linear economy to an economic model which can offer opportunities meant to reduce the pressure put upon the environment, and to confer a growth in competitiveness, innovation, and new jobs. An analysis of the dimensions of the circular economy in Romania, through some specific indicators used at the level of the EU, permits the outlining of a picture associated with the place occupied by our country in relation with the European average or other member states, and the measurement of the completion of desiderata assumed through the national or European plans or strategies regarding the circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responsible production and consumption requires firms, political decision-makers and consumers to adapt to durable practices. Adapting a circular economy helps us achieve this objective, but in industries like the textile and fashion ones, due to the impact their companies have on the environment, responsible management of waste and usage of secondary raw materials should be part of their business model. In this paper we have sought to highlight through a few examples of good practices the role and impact that one of the major players within this industry, namely the H&M Group, has, through initiatives and innovations, on the transition towards a circular business model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of waste management is relatively new. At a practical level measures, actions, programmes and policies regarding the management of waste and environmental protection are being undertaken by governments, communities, economic players and environmental agencies. At a theoretical level, the field is relatively new, but the literature reflects the researchers' interest in offering a basic framework regarding its defining and content. The present paper seeks to present, at the level of the retail industry, in a succinct manner, the concern of large retail chains with environmental protection and give some examples of initiatives undertaken by them within waste management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interdependence between producers and traders has not always been a collaborative relationship, but rather a conflicting one in which both parties pursue their own interests. The expansion of mass production, the emergence of large commercial areas and the globalization process have led to a reconsideration of the role of traders in their relations with producers, becoming strategic partners and at the same time a target of manufacturers marketing policies. Thus, three innovative concepts emerge and develop over the years: Trade Marketing, Category Management and Efficient Consumer Response. One of the longest-living and most successful American companies, Procter & Gamble, is the one that has innovated the concept of Trade Marketing as a convergence between the marketing of the trading company and the marketing of the manufacturer. This paper aims to analyze this concept and emphasize the role that P & G has had in reconsidering the position of the manufacturer in the logistic cooperation between him and the trader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the major components of company strategy regarding customer service there is the withdrawal of products from the market. This process is considered today by many companies to be a necessary evil in their relationship with consumers, who know their rights regarding products that may present risks. The present paper seeks to outline the main aspects related to this process and to emphasize the fact that economic operators on the Romanian market have recognized the importance of voluntary withdrawal campaigns of nonconforming or risk-prone products from the market as an element of conforming to national law, but more so as an instrument in the competitive fight for attracting and inducing loyalty in the customer-base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning with the last quarter of the XIXth century, coal mining has contributed to the transformation of the Jiu Valley into an important industrial centre. Financing this activity, like the financing of other economic and social activities complementary or not to mining, will impose the creation and functioning of banking and credit institutions, created through the initiative and monetary support of small entrepreneurs and other economic entities. In our study we will attempt to describe these credit institutions and the way in which they would fit within the Romanian banking system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of the structure and evolution of the different parts of monetary mass is subordinated to designing future monetary policy. Sizing the monetary mass and following its evolution, of the different tendencies registered by its component assets with different degrees of liquidity, is accomplished using certain monetary indicators integrated into a monetary analysis model capable of explaining and orienting the processes and monetary policy. This is the prerogative of the monetary authority of every nation. In Romania this authority is the Romanian National Bank (BNR). This study seeks to dynamically analyse the monetary mass of Romania between 2013-2017, the categoris of indicators in which it is structured, as well as monetary assets with different degrees of liquidity which are included in different monetary aggregates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the Romanian economy is part of the economies in Europe with notable economic growth. It is the economy where the industry plays a major role but also has great potential in the agricultural sector due to favorable natural conditions. Agriculture plays an important role in Romania, relative to the size of the rural population and to the primary natural resources they own. However, there are major differences between rural and urban areas, the former being marked by a significantly higher level of poverty and a correspondingly lower living standard. The development of agriculture and the provision of public goods in rural areas is therefore essential for Romania's economy and for achieving the objectives of social cohesion. Compared to other EU countries, the Romanian agricultural sector has a relatively high share in gross added value but has lagged behind in terms of labor productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are attempting in this study to present a part of existing preoccupations in the Jiu Valley so that present coal mining can efficiently respond to the economic crisis of 1929-1933. We are observing, from a management point of view, the application of the principles of "rationalization", many of the taken measures being dictated by the more or less subjective capacity of Romanian society to absorb the basic production of mines, coal and the necessity of dealing with the income-expenditure ratio, without which the largest part of production capabilities could not maintain its activity. "Rationalization" has entailed an intellectual and material effort and has consequently created a modern technical basis and, implicitly, the continuation of mining activity in this region and the establishment of the Jiu Valley as the most important carbon basin of Romania until the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of many European countries, Romania becoming a member of the European Union, as well as the conclusions of several studies undertaken by international organisations which show a decrease and aging of our nation's population, have caused the authorities to rethink the public pension system, redirecting part of the contributions paid by romanians to this system towards a private one. A portfolio of private pension funds has been created, namely Pylon II. The following study seeks to present the principles behind the functioning of Pylon II, as well as to make an analysis of the main indicators that characterise this sistem, especially the structure of the investment portfolios of the seven privately managed pension funds from Romania between 2012 and 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study we will try to present the banking and financial institutions which would, though its capital contribution, contribute at the beginning of the interwar period to the creation of the main mining companies of the Jiu Valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to approach a few issues relevant to all those who want to manage a start- up business. Thus, besides the conceptual aspects are given benefits and risks of such a business, potential funding sources and a range of features of start-up entrepreneurs in Romania. It also aims to highlight the importance of entrepreneurship development in the current period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Romania, the beer industry is known to be a key economic sector with an important contribution to the economic development. This is due to the ability of this sector of self-regulation, to some common objectives of the brewing companies translated into a common mission within the Brewers of Romania Association that represents their interests, but also to the long-term strategies implemented by these companies. In addition to economic aspects, these strategies aim at drawing a strong CSR policy. The social programs and projects of the companies in the beer industry fall into various categories and reach the following main areas: responsible commercial communication for beer, funding for projects within the communities where they operate, social programs for different categories of people, volunteering etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that involves voluntary implementation, by enterprises, of social and environmental concerns in their business operations, as well as in the relationships that they develop with their stakeholders. Globalization phenomenon and the fast-paced internationalization of Romanian multinationals compelled these entities not only to assume the leading role within the process of changing over the aboriginal business environment but also to align with international practice in terms of sustainability reporting. Our paper reviews the core forms of CSR and, starting form this reference point, carries on an ample case study on CSR strategy implemented within Petrom OMV. The largest company in Romania, Petrom OMV is also the most significant investor in CSR projects at the national level. The company can be considered among the few Romanian firms which are able to conceive and to put into practice an articulated and coherent strategy of social responsibility, with a positive impact on the sustainable development of the Romanian society. Conclusions based on our study make out a case in favor of the idea that best practices in the field of CSR do exist in our country and these routines should be disseminated to all levels of economic and social life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to be a case study regarding one of the organizational arrangements of the commercial apparatus namely the integrated commerce. This type of trade can be carried out, in his turn, through several types of commercial units. In the last decades a global expansion have known it the corporative chains whose way of organization corresponds to the integrated commerce but that have exceeded the boundaries of a simple trading activities of this kind, reaching to lay the groundwork of an integrated business model both vertically and horizontal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wholesale is an important link in the movement of goods from manufacturer to consumer. Undertakings that carry out such activity have a very important role in the overall economic system, providing a number of benefits both to the manufacturing companies from which they buy goods and also to the retail companies to which they resell trade goods. The complexity, diversity and magnitude of the operations of the wholesalers classifies them into various typologies, most of them being classical wholesalers. A good example in this regard is the METRO Cash & Carry Company, whose business model is centered on the client and on satisfying to a higher level of its needs through the promotion of an extensive range of services that come to complement the sale of goods to the retailers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until the middle of the 19th century, the Jiu Valley was the location of a rural world, whose concern was to develop a forest and pastoral economy, which could fit the characteristics of the mountainous region where the Jiu Rivers sprang. The industrial revolution that enters the Transylvanian territory in the 19th century was going to determine the need of primary sources of energy, so that coal and the Jiu Valley, implicitly, where a 2.1 billion tons estimated deposit of brown and pit coal exists, were going to enter the attention of the social and economic processes during the following 150 years. Coal industrial exploitation in the Jiu Valley, started by the '60s of the 19th century and still carried on today, determined the radical change of the social, economic and cultural features of the region. Consequently, our analysis attempts at displaying both the manner the six towns of the present-day Jiu Valley came out and their evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After World War I as a result of the process of "nationalization" of the existing mining companies, of the application of the Law on the commercialization of the economic enterprises of the State of 7 June 1925, of the general trend of creating new industrial companies, in the Jiu Valley will continue operation many mining companies, called upon to exploit the rich coal deposit existing in the basement of the region. To the recovery period and then to momentum of the world economy during the third decade of the twentieth century, follows, however in a specific economic cyclicity, the period of economic crisis of the years 1929-1933. By crisis is also struck still from years 1926-1927, mining and quarrying of coal, and consequently the coal mining from the Jiu Valley, and one of the levers by which those who have led the destinies of this economic complex tried to pull the region out of crisis was the policy of rationalization, through which was aimed, primarily, a decrease in material costs through a better organization of work and through a renewal of the fixed capital based on the new technique that allowed an increase in labor productivity. Not in the least, it is accented in this period the concentration process of production and capital, either through mergers or by seizing small mining companies or undertakings, whether by purchase of land in order to form large mining complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For Romania, the status of full member of the European Union created obligations, but especially the need to respect the directives and regulations of the European bodies. The European Commission regulation which provides for each Member State the implementation of the ESSPROS methodology which refers to the coordination of social security systems in each country in terms of statistical data collection and calculation of welfare indicators on a comparable basis may also be found among these directives. This paper aims to present and analyze the way in which Romania joined this regulation, how it applies the methodology of the European Union and especially what is the level in which our system of social protection ensures welfare of citizens compared to other systems in the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the interbellum period, the Jiu Valley was the most important coal basin in Romania, which in 1939, accounted for 60.74% of the national production and 67.15% of the consumption of the Romanian National Railways. In order to achieve this production, the mining companies were using a qualified work force with a maximum of 18,197 employees in 1924 and minimum of 7,247 employees in 1932. Our study deals with one of the institutional ways of regulating the work relations between the coal companies and their employees in the Jiu Valley, namely the collective work contract. The first collective work contract was signed on July 10, 1920, and in prinicipal was meant to regulate the following: work conditions; the employees' payment and supplies; the provision of housing, heating and electricity; the protection of children, apprentices, and women; the prevention of accidents and rescuing; measurements for the employees' health and hygiene; the treatment of convalescents, victims of accidents, and invalids; holidays; etc.. These issues were to be found in all subsequent collective work contracts from the interbellum period. We can appreciate that, during most of the interbellum period, the sustained dialogue and the application of the stipulations of collective work contracts ensured a climate that supported productive activity, as well as the social, economic, and cultural development of the Jiu Valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Situated in the Southern Carpathians of Romania, Vâlcan Gorge was, from the Antiquity to the end of the XIX-th century, the main connection between southern Transylvania/Hațeg County and northern Oltenia/Gorj area. Under the circumstances, the area situated at the source of the Jiu Rivers, generically named the Jiu Valley and crossed by the road coming from Crivadia and going up in Vâlcan Gorge, sometimes benefited from being a transit area for those who traveled from one side of the Southern Carpathians to the other, but it was also always in the way of invasions that lasted up to the beginning of the modern age. Today, this road seems to regain the attention of local authorities as a possible touristic route, losing its initial role at the end of the XIX-th century when, on September 4, 1894, the present road through Jiu Gorge was inaugurated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyse a sector of the Romanian economy which is currently among the most sustainable. It is about production and marketing of beer, a product with a long and rich history around the world but also in Romania. The analysis covers a period of seven years and takes into account the dynamic evolution of those market-specific indicators such as: production, consumption, imports, exports, workforce involved, the contribution to the state budget, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like the rest of the world, the European Union in 2008 has been hit by the global economic and financial crisis. European Member States were affected to varying degrees by the crisis, and their counter response to its effects has not been the same. The austerity measures applied by the authorities have mostly affected the labor market. Recourse was made to wage cuts, to reduce normal duration of work, to redundancies, and in parallel to increase taxes and fees for both the employees and the employers. But the labor market, even in these times has to provide social protection for the employees, and one of these measures is, in most European Member States, the enactment of a minimum wage. This paper aims to analyze to what extent the level and dynamics of the minimum wage has been unaffected by the crisis, especially if it proved its effectiveness in terms of social protection of the workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, most countries are concerned with the implementation of public policies which increase or maintain the social welfare of their citizens. The most important component of this policy is the social one, and within it stands out particularly the social protection system. In Romania, this system consists of two main components: the state social insurance system and the social assistance system. The extent to which the two systems reach their ultimate goal, namely to ensure a decent life for citizens, depending on their area of coverage by social security benefits. These are expenditures that are included in the public budget. The level of these expenditures, their share in the total expenditure of the budget system, but also their share in GDP are indicators that show the coverage level of social protection system and ultimately its ability to raise the level of living standards. This paper aims at a brief analysis of both the level as well as the evolution of these indicators between 2006 and 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the work consists in analyzing the phenomenon of unemployment, a phenomenon which is becoming more and more alarming day after day. In the following it is presented the highlighting of the main statistical indicators for assessing the unemployment of the Hunedoara county level. The main purpose is carrying out a comparative study of the number of unemployed in the period 2006-2009 in the context of the economic crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our study we're trying to present one of the many social projects that "Mica" Mining Company has achieved within the gold mining complex from Brad, located in the Apuseni Mountains of Transylvania. Under the motto "Be not only hardworking but also preservers because everyone can earn money, but few know how to save it" the company the managers of "Mica" Brad set up, in 1931-1932, the House of Savings and Loan for workers, and the House of Savings and Loan officials respectively, institutions that would operate until the closing of "Mica" Company in 1948. These Houses include all employees of the "Mica" Company from Brad and will circulate the funds from voluntary and compulsory deposits of their members, granting loans for the construction of houses and farms, for the establishment of agricultural holdings, for the purchase of land and agricultural equipment, for family needs etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the most visible feature of globalization was the new trend of the capital flow which moves from the stage of internalization to the stage of trans- nationalization. The decisive factor that led to this development was the trans-nationalization of production/distribution networks by multinational companies (MNCs). MNCs, which are also frequently referred to as transnational corporations (TNCs), are conglomerate organizations which carry out multiple and diverse economic activities and they consists of a parent company and a large number of subsidiaries operating in various countries of the world. Japan has been worthy of note on the international business scene not only by the high competitiveness of its companies on the global markets, but especially through the trans- nationalization of the activities of these enterprises, a process which has resulted in the implementation, via Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) of Japanese production units abroad, with significant positive impact both on the global economy and on the domestic economy. A great number of empirical studies since the mid-1990s, using firm-level data, have shown that multinational companies (MNCs) dominate today the Japanese business environment. The paper puts together the findings of some interesting working papers published by Japanese researchers in recent years, trying to provide a scientific answer to the following question: "In what way do FDI undertaken by MNCs influence the level of performances achieved by Japanese companies at home?" The conclusion is that FDI and the activity carried out by Japanese MNCs abroad have indubitable positive effects on both countries and firms involved - such as raises in production, employment and productivity at firms' level or increases in competition intensity among firms, improvements in real wage and welfare at macroeconomic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During several decades, Jiu Valley has represented one of the labour markets, which, like a sponge, absorbed labour force from all over the country. As the number of the population increased the number of the population working in the mine industry became the highest in the country. But everything came to a stop in the year 1997, year representing the great layoff in Jiu Valley. The paper will deal with the labour market and unemployment in this mono-industrial area, as a result of the decisions to reorganise the mining industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic restructuring relies upon a well defined strategy that should observe both target goals and those measures, programs, and means needed in order to successfully carry out the goals. Nevertheless, this is not the case of the Jiu Valley's extractive industry; accordingly, the economic and social effects of its specific condition have already appeared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

nowadays, unemployment still is a threatening as a result of the quantitative and qualitative lack of balance between labour demand and offer. Under such circumstances, a very important part is played by the implementation of certain active measures with a view of increasing the degree of labour employment and of diminishing the real unemployment rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jiu Valley, or Petrosani coal basin, is an important economic region of Romania, situated at the springs of the Jiu River, between the Eastern Carpathians. It is a geographical area that emerges and develops from a social, economic and cultural point of view after mid-nineteenth century, as a result of the industrial revolution. The influence of the industrial revolution on this mountain area will occur on two coordinates: the extraction of the most important natural assets in the underground -- coal -- the energy resource that underlies the development of the first stage of the industrial revolution; the implementation of technical methods and technologies without which the coal deposits in the Jiu Valley could not be turned to account by primary extraction and processing. As a Transylvanian region, it will be part of the Habsburg Empire by the end of 1918 -- the Austrian -- Hungarian Empire since 1867 -- and the industrial revolution, the political and economic interests of the state and of private capital will boost development. The state will be involved by developing a stimulating legislation -- primarily the General Mine Law of 23 May 1854 -- and through direct investment, and private capital by mining companies: Mine şi Cuptoare Company in Braşov; "Salgótarján"; "Uricani-Valea Jiului", "Valea Jiului de Sus". Work force will come from different parts of the Empire -- which will trigger a population increase from 6670 inhabitants in 1854 to 50,015 inhabitants in 1910. This population will live in workers neighborhoods from which the present day cities will develop. Being highly professionalized, it will change the social, economic and cultural characteristics of the Jiu Valley by developing a modern industrial complex, production coal increasing from 853 tons in 1868 to 2,229,850 tons in 1913. The Jiu Valley coal will be used mainly for railway propulsion, in steel works, for household heating, etc., contributing to the development of other industries and to the comfort population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sociological research whose results are given in this paper was conducted in the month of July 2009 in the rural community of Sarmizegetusa, located in Hunedoara County on the border with Caras-Severin County. There has been investigated a total of 174 households and the main issues addressed are the following ones: house and living conditions, family structure, household income, the comfort of the house. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After tens of years during which unemployment was not officially admitted, centrally planned economy claiming complete labour employing, this phenomenon has appeared since 1990. The transition to the market economy and the massive re-structuring of certain branches of the economy considered as non-viable imply raised social costs, one of these being the increase of the number of unemployed; especially of long term unemployed ones. That's for this social category that authorities should develop a system of unemployment social assurances which, on the one hand, has to protect those persons in difficulty, and, on the other one, to determine such persons whose income is unemployment aid not to abandon the idea of getting a job. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level of pensions in Romania represents a topic of passionate debates within the political class, beginning with 1990 until nowadays. The alarming increase of the number of pensioners that has surpassed the number of employees in the economy correlated with the level of economical and social development of our country resulted in the impossibility of creating a system of social insurances for elder persons capable of assuring a decent level of their incomes. Accordingly, the analysis of the various categories of pensions covering 12 years has emphasized the fact that, generally, pensions are not able to provide a decent living standard for those who get them; neither they are capable of eliminating poverty in case of a quite important part of the population in our country; subsequently they have proved not to be capable to play their part as social insurances against risks, in our case the risk of being old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of all member states of the EU is that of providing their citizens a decent living standard, namely social welfare for them and their families In order to counteract the undesirable effects associated with the risks of daily life (illness, accidents, unemployment) and in order to have a larger covering, the schemes of social security in the European Union stipulate benefits in money or goods that are classified according to their functions as ESSPROS Manual of the European Commission established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the other policies of the EU, social policy is to be found among those which are not strongly integrated, the member states still having the last word regarding its co-ordination. Nevertheless, there are voices that support the foundation of a common social policy at the European level, this fact being enforced by the similarities of the schemes of social protection of the member states. A conclusive example is the analysis of the incomes and expenditures for social protection of each member state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]