Europe's economic environment has altered considerably over the last thirty years, and the economies of European countries have progressively opened up to the global economy. As a result, the competitiveness of the European economies is dependent not just on production costs, but also on the performance of pension and social security systems guaranteeing security for the future.
Europe used to be a lot better off.
It says Europe has progressed therefore it has gotten better now instead of it being better before. The system had an issue because of the terminology.