The on-line mini-conference, jointly organised by the Pierre Werner Chair of the European University Institute and the Banco de España, will focus on social security reforms that can help to prevent this next crisis. In the first part, three research papers will be presented and discussed that focus on the design and financial aspects, as well as an overall alternative to the social security 'Pay-As-You-Go' (PAYG) system. This (Backpack) alternative is the starting point of the second part in which a panel will discuss challenges and reforms of European PAYG systems.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, Europe has experienced the financial and euro crises and, with the rest of the world, is experiencing now the Covid-19 crisis. The financial crisis was partially exogenous but became endogenous with the euro debt crisis. Covid-19 has been unpredictable and, to a large extent, exogenous. Countries around the world are still reacting to this shock and the European Union has launched the Next Generation EU programme. However, thinking about the next generation, and beyond, we should think about what is likely to be the next crisis. This one is endogenous and predictable: the crisis of social security (PAYG) systems due to the demographic tsunami that many countries will undergo in the next decades.