This paper highlights how the impact of the global economic recession delays “social Europe” with different intensity across Member States, and discusses the steps taken by European institutions to mitigate that impact. Revealing the weak macro-economic performance of some Euro Area Member States, it underlines the most affected sectors of social life, asking questions and trying to answer them. The second part of the paper will explain the way the crisis affects European pension systems. Based on statistical analysis, the paper demonstrates that both the fully funded pensions and the pay-as-you-go pension plans are negatively affected by the recession. It concludes that any therapy must also include accountability and even so, it does not prevent a real “social crisis” from occurring in the future.