Abstract. Romania is about to become a member of EU and to participate, in an active way, to the european dream. After a short presentation of the origins of social market economy, authors analyze european social model, emphasizing the main dificulties of the present european construction. The paper ends with a comparative analisys of two different economic policies, being offered strong arguments in favor of pro-market policies. On long term, the only way to increase the economic prosperity (in the EU) is by stimulating institutional competition, protecting property rights and liberty in order to increase welfare, and not by redistribution and uniformization.

Keywords: european social model; integration; redistribution; social policy.