Professor Claus Offe is a distinguished social scientist. He has written extensively about the welfare state, and is known as an advocate of the basic income. We spoke with him in Berlin about the state of the European Union and in particular the European social model. What the welfare state delivered in the past, and what needs to be done to ensure its viability in the future. He is supportive of the current EU level initiatives like minimum wage coordination and unemployment reinsurance, while also acknowledging the limitations of the EU to influence social policy within the member states.