The evolution of capitalism and the future of employment policy in the EU
The emergence of the financial capitalism model in continental Europe is not unrelated to the debate on reform of the European social model, the paradox being that now that workers have gained ownership of the means of production, they actually control them less and less. This evolution is liable to affect the basis of a social model traditionally anchored in Rhineland capitalism, the more so in that the globalisation of financial flows has reduced the control exercised by the EU over its enterprises. The trade unions are concerned at the impact of these developments on companies' behaviour in the social sphere, in particular as regards the co-determination, information and consultation of workers. Yet the development of employee shareholdings and pension funds opens up new opportunities for trade union action, entailing the growing involvement of employees in corporate governance which is thus becoming a major challenge for workers and, more broadly, for employment policy and its relationship to other policy areas, above all the internal market.