Focus on European Social Policy: countering Europessimism
Description
Focus on European Social Policy: countering Europessimism presents in its first chapter a summary of legislative developments since 1957/58: the amendments to the treaties with reference to the Single European Act, the EU Charter on Fundamental Social Rights, the Social Protocol; but also examples of practical progress such as European Works Councils, the coordination of employment policies and the convergence strategy for social protection.Next, there is a description of the various stages of bargaining policy – commonly referred to as ‘social dialogue’ – along with its first successes including the agreements on parental leave and part-time work.
Finally, the theoretical aspects are tackled, with tentative theorizations being proposed employing concepts such as the ‘social space’ and typologies of welfare state and industrial relations systems. This chapter provides a new interpretation of the contradictory prevailing relationships between interlocking entities such as the national state and the supranational Union, which result in a new allocation of work and sovereignty between the two, but also in overlapping and conflicting areas of competence. The last chapter gives an outline of the outlook regarding the constraints and opportunities of social policy, countering the numerous ‘Euro-sceptic’ interpretations and thereby reinforcing a more optimistic view of European social policy.
This book is also available in French.
Table of contents
No table of contents available.