Every week, thousands of Germans take to the streets to protest against a government plan to slash unemployment benefits.
In France, the government of president Jacques Chirac is facing the question of longer working hours. And in Rome, Silvio Berlusconi's coalition is confronted with Italy's looming pensions crisis.
Economic reforms are in the air across the European Union, and some hope that the drive to raise competitiveness, growth, employment and prosperity has just found a new champion.
Mr José Manuel Barroso, the next president of the European Commission, has already promised that, come November, economic reforms will be at the heart of his five-year tenure.
"I will personally chair a group of commissioners who will seek to boost the reform process and give new impetus to Europe's economy," he told journalists last week after presenting the line-up of his new Commission.
"We must seek new high-tech means to foster growth while maintaining our industrial base."
He also stressed his attachment to the Union's Lisbon agenda - a package of reforms and targets agreed four years ago with the aim of making the Union the "most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010".
Such reform has been derided by many as a hopeless quest, but Mr Barroso reiterated his support for the process yesterday in Brussels.
Though he conceded that EU leaders might have been "too ambitious" in selecting a target date of 2010, he said there was no reason to abandon the cause.
"The goal of becoming the most competitive economy in the world is one we can achieve, and we should not feel discouraged," he said.
Mr Barroso points to the recent reforms in Germany as evidence that the European public has acknowledged a problem with competitiveness.
He says people are now more willing to accept tough decisions that they would have rejected in the past.
"What do the people of Europe want from the institutions of the European Union? They want us to help solve their problems and that means dealing with jobs and unemployment, with education and with health. That is what the people of Europe want," he said.
Yet despite his professed enthusiasm for economic reform, there is something puzzling about a commission president trying to set the agenda on this issue. For the truth is - he cannot.
As Mr Karel van Miert, who served as transport and then as competition commissioner under Mr Barroso's predecessors, points out: "With the Lisbon agenda, the responsibility for practically all the issues lies with the national governments. The commission has a lot of powers but it is not an economic government."
Mr van Miert's analysis reflects the experience of the present commission. Mr Romano Prodi, the current president, has battled valiantly for the Lisbon agenda, but in the absence of support from national capitals, his efforts amounted to little more than rhetoric.
Indeed, the commission has few formal powers on national employment laws, social welfare legislation, tax rates, education and research policies - or any of the other tools that might enhance the Union's competitiveness.
Mr Barroso acknowledged yesterday that many responsibilities lie with the member states. But he argued that the commission could play a valuable role in "helping" them find the right policies and setting a framework for economic reforms in the Union.
Many believe, however, that Mr Barroso's attention will be distracted by other urgent needs. Indeed, the real tests of his leadership could well be posed in areas that are very different - but equally demanding.
They range from finding a compromise to the fierce debate over how much money the EU should receive and spend over the next decade, to the thorny problem of reviving the euro zone's discredited Stability Pact.
Other pressing issues include co-ordinating Europe's response in the fight against terrorism and better co-operation in the area of immigration and border control.
Mr Barroso must also deal with the sensitive topic of the Union's budding foreign policy and the question of Turkish EU membership.
Finally, Mr Barroso could well be called on to fix a potentially devastating crisis if the Union's landmark constitutional treaty is rejected in referendums held over the coming two years in many member states.
With opinion polls showing public scepticism toward the EU on the rise, many believe the constitution will fall at the first hurdle - an outcome that is certain to plunge the Union into institutional disarray.
Guiding the EU through the fallout will be a tall order, and one that will require the full force of Mr Barroso's political skills and leadership.
But, much to the pleasure of Commission officials, both were on impressive display last week when he revealed the line-up of his new team to almost universal acclaim.
Mr Barroso's decision to hand the big economic portfolios to people with a distinctly free-market outlook was widely interpreted as proof of his reformist credentials.
Outgoing finance minister Mr Charlie McCreevywas put in charge of the key internal market, services and financial services portfolio.
Ms Neelie Kroes, a forceful and experienced Dutch ex-minister and businesswoman, will take control of the sensitive competition directorate.
But what surprised observers most was that a process that in the past has been hostage to fierce horse-trading between member states went smoothly and quickly.
None of the EU's heads of government dared publicly to criticise his appointments, and both members of the European Parliament and independent analysts applauded Mr Barroso's line-up.
It was, perhaps, an early demonstration of the new role that Mr Barroso wants to carve for himself and the commission.
He made clear yesterday that he will not seek confrontation with the member states but will instead try to serve as an "honest broker".
He argues that in a Union of 25 member states it will be difficult if not impossible for heads of government to find a compromise on difficult issues without outside help.
Mr Barroso says his role will be to mediate between different national interests: "I will try to listen to all the views and then come up with a solution".
He says he wants the Commission to be "a fully independent entity that makes decision-making possible".
He aspires to a role similar to the one played by Mr Jacques Delors, a previous commission president who is widely credited with launching the single European currency and the EU's enlargement into eastern and southern Europe.
"The commission under Jacques Delors very often had the situation of blockage in the Council [the body that represents EU member states], and then the commission came up with a deal. Our role is to help find solutions.
"I will be at the service of member states. I will not work according to the logic of imposition."
His approach is sure to be embraced by the national capitals, where many heads of government have grown wary of forceful interventions from Brussels.
The commission has felt this dis-enchantment particularly in the case of France and Germany, two of the founding members of the EU and traditionally the two countries that claim a leadership role in shaping EU policies.
Mr Barroso appears keen to start off on a good footing with Paris and Berlin, applauding their role as the "motor" of European integration and emphasising their special position.
"It is a great mistake to think that Europe can go on without the Franco-German motor.
"People sometimes complain when they [France and Germany] are working very closely, but they forget that it is a bad situation when they are not working together. I want a good, close co-operation between France and Germany. We would all suffer if they did not co-operate," he said.
Whether such remarks reflect Mr Barroso's true beliefs or simply the pragmatism required in his new job is not clear.
But it is already apparent that the next president of the European commission is determined to position himself as the man in the middle, who will pursue his political goals not by confrontation but by winning the trust of EU member states and then brokering a compromise between them.
After the often fractious relationship between the national capitals and Mr Prodi's commission, this will come as a change - and one that will probably be welcomed by EU governments.
But it remains to be seen whether such a role will enable Mr Barroso to master the political challenges ahead.
It is equally unclear whether he will be able to use the position of "honest broker" to foster economic reform and drive forward the Lisbon agenda.
Mr Barroso has already displayed the diplomatic tact and political skills that many say were lacking during the Prodi commission.
He has so far proved wrong the critics who dismissed him as a mere compromise candidate, and impressed political leaders with his recent performances in Brussels.
Some say the real danger for Mr Barroso is that he will seek to do too much at the same time. Mr van Miert, for example, offers this advice: "You must be careful not to overreach yourself. Concentrate on where the commission has its main responsibilities. There are a lot of really big outstanding challenges. Just focus on that.
"Do it as well as possible and try to convince politicians and the public that you are good at this. Then you can go a step further and be a bit more ambitious."
With problems and challenges piling up in Mr Barroso's in-tray, he could well find that the task of championing economic reforms in the EU will have to wait.
First, the EU's political leaders will want to see that he can really deliver on his promise of a "strong, credible and independent" European Commission. - (Financial Times Service)
