scholarly journals Can European Union (EU) Social NGOs Co-operate to Promote EU Social Policy?

2001 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT GEYER
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Political Constraints ◽  
The Social ◽  
Operative Strategies ◽  
The Eu

This article examines why, despite similar general interests, institutional positions and political constraints, EU social NGOs find it so difficult to develop co-operative strategies except on the most fundamental issues. To demonstrate these difficulties the article considers the general reasons for and against co-operation between social NGOs and then examines the difficulties and advantages of collective EU social NGO action during the 1998 NGO funding crisis, Red Card protest and civil dialogue. The article argues that there is a fundamental desire for, and are benefits from, close co-operation between the EU social NGOs. However, due to the complex ‘context structure’ within which NGOs must operate, this co-operative impetus is constantly undermined. In conclusion, the article argues that social NGOs will remain weak and insignificant actors until the Commission/Parliament and/or the social NGOs can organise the complex context structure and allow co-operative strategies to emerge.

Social dialogue in candidate countries: what for?

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Lado ◽  
Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
The Real ◽  
Social Dialogue ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Partners ◽  
Dialogue Process ◽  
Eu Candidate Countries ◽  
The Eu

In their negotiations for accession to the EU, candidate countries have made important social policy commitments. These include the promotion of social dialogue up to EU standards and the application of the principles and values that prevail in this area. Accordingly, governments of candidate countries are trying to promote appropriate conditions for such social dialogue to take place, while social partners are reinforcing their structures to play their full role in the social dialogue process. Nevertheless, there has been little debate about the real objectives of social dialogue in the candidate countries. What is social dialogue for, what has it achieved so far, and why is it so important to develop it further? Who are expected to be the ultimate beneficiaries of social dialogue mechanisms and practices? What implications might current features of social dialogue in candidate countries have in the enlarged European Union? This article provides a first tentative assessment of the coverage of social dialogue - and thus of the effectiveness of social dialogue mechanisms - in the candidate countries.

Social Policy and European Union Politics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Daly
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Policy Model ◽  
The Social ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
The Eu

Social policy has a particular character and set of associated politics in the European Union (EU) context. There is a double contestation involved: the extent of the EU’s agency in the field and the type of social policy model pursued. The former is contested because social policy is typically and traditionally a matter of national competence and the latter because the social policy model is crucial to economic and market development. Hence, social policy has both functional and political significance, and EU engagement risks member states’ capacity to control the social fate of their citizens and the associated resources, authority, and power that come with this capacity. The political contestations are at their core territorially and/or social class based; the former crystalizes how wide and extensive the EU authority should be in social policy and the latter a left/right continuum in regard to how redistributive and socially interventionist EU social policy should be. Both are the subject of a complicated politics at EU level. First, there is a diverse set of agents involved, not just member states and the “political” EU institutions (Parliament and Council) but the Commission is also an important “interested” actor. This renders institutional politics and jockeying for power typical features of social policymaking in the EU. Second, one has to break down the monolith of the EU institutions and recognize that within and among them are actors or units that favor a more left or right position on social policy. Third, actors’ positions do not necessarily align on the two types of contestation (apart perhaps from the social nongovernmental organizations and to a lesser extent employers and business interests). Some actors who favor an extensive role for social policy in general are skeptical about the role of the EU in this regard (e.g., trade unions, some social democratic parties) while others (some sectors of the Commission) wish for a more expansive EU remit in social policy but also support a version of social policy pinned tightly to market and economic functions. In this kind of context, the strongest and most consistent political thrust is toward a type of EU social policy that is most clearly oriented to enabling the Union’s economic and market-related objectives. Given this and the institutional set-up, the default position in EU social policy is for a market-making social policy orientation on the one hand and a circumscribed role for the EU in social policy on the other.

The Constitutional (Im)balance between ‘the Market’ and ‘the Social’ in the European Union

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sacha Garben
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Eu

An assessment of the balance between ‘the market’ and ‘the social’ by reference to the areas of social policy, the internal market and economic governance – Imbalance resulting from a consitutional displacement of the legislative process (EU and national) and instead decision-making by the judiciary and the executive – Proposals to address the imbalance by reinforcing the role of the EU legislative process and limiting other forms of European integration.

scholarly journals European Union Social Policy as an Instrument for Sustainable Development

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 117-138
Author(s):  
Janina Witkowska
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Member States ◽  
Social And Economic Development ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Eu

This paper undertakes an analysis and assessment of European Union (EU) social policy in the context of the sustainability of the group's social and economic development. The process of Europeanizing EU social policy is not advanced. Thus, the weight of solving social problems primarily rests with member countries. EU social policy is "looser" in character than other EU policies and its scope is limited to those areas where member states were willing to transfer certain prerogatives to European Union level. The EU only supports social policy in the context of the sustainability of the group's social and economic development. The process of Europeanizing EU social policy is not and supplements the actions of member states in the social sphere. At the same time, the EU supports the concept of corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility is defined as the voluntary taking into account by companies of social and environmental matters in their operations and in relations with interested parties.

SOCIAL WELFARE OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE EU: COMPARATIVE MODELS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LEGAL INTEGRATION SYSTEM OF THE EAEU STATES

2021 ◽  
pp. 115-124
Author(s):  
Dmitry V. Agashev ◽  
◽  
Sergey G. Trifonov ◽  
Kristine V. Trifonova ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Social ◽  
Security Relations ◽  
Legal Space ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Eu

The article assesses the EU legal system as a unique institutional unit and highlights its features. It deals with the comparative legal aspects of the regulation of the social welfare of migrant workers in the EU and the EAEU. Attention is paid to the study of legislation on social welfare for migrant workers in the EU, as well as the possibility of realizing the experi-ence accumulated within the EAEU. It is emphasized that the use of comparative models con-cerning the social welfare of migrant workers in the EU and the EAEU can be productive, taking into account the analysis of the state and dynamics of the EU's legal policy in its historical development. The authors have analyzed the historical stages reflecting the difference within the EU approaches to the regulation of social welfare relations for migrant workers. The emphasis is on the role of EU administrative institutions, which provide a balancing approach to the key principles and social policy settings, due to the desire to eliminate distortions and possible conflicts between the norms of states. At the same time, EU members have the competence within the existing common standards of financial security obligations to expand the estab-lished standards and this makes the EU's social policy geographically differentiated. It is noted that the allied states, formed on trade and economic grounds, such as the EU and the EAEU, are characterized by an objective desire for a single legal space, with the uni-fication of approaches on the social welfare of migrant workers throughout the Union. Never-theless, in complex interstate unions, it is impossible to abandon the principle of multi-level regulation of social and security relations, and in this sense, the situation in the EU and the EAEU is quite similar. The current state of EU law in terms of regulating the relations under consideration largely preserves national legal regimes, and each of them, through its special legal means, determines a different amount of social rights of migrant workers. In the context of the EAEU, a similar approach should not be considered productive, since it does not contribute to the goals of this interstate association, defined by Article 4 of the Treaty on its creation. Therefore, within the framework of the EAEU, it is advisable to fix as early as possible the uniform standards in the area of social welfare of migrant workers, estab-lishing a relatively narrow range of powers of the member states of the Union.

Global Governance vs. Regional Governance in Social Policy

2017 ◽  
pp. 40-59
Author(s):  
Adviye Damla Ünlü
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Policy Governance ◽  
The Social ◽  
Process Context ◽  
Bretton Woods Institutions

Globalization, the much-debated phenomenon of the last decade, has affected the governance of policies. Social policy governance is one of the most affected notions of the globalization process. Context of debates on social policy governance has been transformed from state-centric analysis to the multi-centric analysis. The future of the social policy is highly linked to both global governance and regional governance. In this regard, the aim of this chapter is to draw attention to the multi-centric nature of the social policy governance and to form a framework for the effects of intergovernmental institutions on social policy governance and to discuss their weaknesses and strengths particularly regarding the United Nations, Bretton Woods institutions and the European Union.

Transmigration: the rise of flexible migration strategies as part of superdiversity

2020 ◽  
pp. 100-121
Author(s):  
Dirk Geldof ◽  
Mieke Schrooten ◽  
Sophie Withaeckx
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Migration Studies ◽  
Scientific Debate ◽  
The Social ◽  
Policy Frameworks ◽  
Migration Strategies ◽  
The Eu

This chapter assesses transmigration. Within the fields of migration studies and superdiversity, transmigration and its impact on social policy are still underexplored. Yet, the rising number of transmigrants within Europe — from outside the EU as well as intra-EU-mobility — does not only challenge ideas of belonging and integration, but also existing concepts of governance and social policy. By foregrounding the cases of Brazilian, Ghanaian, and Moroccan transmigrants residing in Belgium in 2014–15, the chapter contributes to a scientific debate regarding these topics. It presents the results of a research project in the two main superdiverse Belgian cities (Brussels and Antwerp), focusing on the social problems and vulnerabilities that relate to transmigration and its inherent temporality and the way that these are experienced and addressed by social workers in superdiverse urban areas within policy frameworks that often do not (yet) recognise the changing context.

18. Internal Policies

2021 ◽  
pp. 779-844
Author(s):  
Robert Schütze
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Monetary Policy ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Consumer Protection ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
National Economic ◽  
Internal Policy ◽  
Union Policy ◽  
Economic Choices

This chapter provides an overview of four internal Union policy areas that have come to significantly affect the lives of European citizens. It begins by introducing the Union's Economic and Monetary Policy. This policy is not only responsible for the creation of a common European currency—the euro—which has become a leading world currency; it recently provoked enormous controversy over the powers of the European Union to interfere with national economic choices. The chapter then moves to ‘Social Policy’; this is an important internal policy for a continent that prides itself on being the ‘social continent’. It also explores the Treaty title on ‘Consumer Protection’, which has had an enormous impact on national contract laws. Finally, the chapter looks at the Union's regional or cohesion policy.

scholarly journals The Tolerable Cost of European Union Regulation: Leaving the EU and the Market for Politically Convenient Facts

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 719-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
GARY FOOKS ◽  
TOM MILLS
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Social Regulation ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Costs And Benefits ◽  
Business Competitiveness ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

AbstractEuropean Union (EU) law-making has played a key role in promoting social equity in the UK through safer working conditions, enhanced rights for workers, and by reducing environmental pollution. Concerns over its effect on business competitiveness have long been a major driver of Euroscepticism, underpinning criticism of the EU by influential opinion formers within British conservatism. The Leave Campaign argued that EU laws damage the UK economy by imposing unnecessary costs on British business, claiming that EU regulations cost the UK economy £33.3 billion per year. This paper examines the reliability of, and assumptions that underpin, aggregated estimates of the costs and benefits of EU-derived regulation, and considers how the economisation of public policy influences understanding of the social value of regulation. It brings together the findings of studies that have evaluated the accuracy of the estimated costs and benefits in formal impact assessments and analyses impact assessments of EU-derived policy instruments aimed at regulating working conditions. Our findings suggest that aggregated estimates represent poor guides to understanding the social costs and benefits of social regulation and highlight the value of discarding impact assessment estimates of costs and benefits in the context of efforts to shape social policy post-Brexit.

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