Social Europe is a key topic in the construction of the EU and its institutions. This volume examines the current state of, and perspectives for, Social Europe, as well as key issues in European social policy, including the posting of workers, the impact of the free market and regulations on social convergence, work automation, digitalisation, taxation and democracy in the workplace. The aim of this volume is to identify a course to be followed in integrating the EU’s social policies and point to areas in which co-operation between member states is likely to produce best results. While a Social Europe was previously seen to be a natural consequence of political and economic integration, it is now viewed as a separate area that requires active policies to preserve the European project. The EU’s big question today concerns the level at which this policy should be pursued: the volume’s contributors outline difficulties with harmonising social policies across the Union, but they nevertheless argue that, owing to the common challenges faced by Europe, the idea of a Social Europe must not be abandoned and requires specific action. The volume consists of 11 chapters written by a variety of expert authors, analysing the idea of a Social Europe and proposing ways in which it could be put into practice. Social policy can no longer be seen as derived from economic policy but rather as a separate driver of development that could be of interest to the northern, southern and eastern states of the EU. Jacek Kubera, PhD, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Sociology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Tomasz Morozowski, PhD candidate, Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, and analyst at the Poznań Institute for Western Affairs.

The sixteenth edition of Social policy in the European Union: state of play has a triple ambition. First, it provides easily accessible information to a wide audience about recent developments in both EU and domestic social policymaking. Second, the volume provides a more analytical reading, embedding the key developments of the year 2014 in the most recent academic discourses. Third, the forward-looking perspective of the book aims to provide stakeholders and policymakers with specific tools that allow them to discern new opportunities to influence policymaking. In this 2015 edition of Social policy in the European Union: state of play, the authors tackle the topics of the state of EU politics after the parliamentary elections, the socialisation of the European Semester, methods of political protest, the Juncker investment plan, the EU’s contradictory education investment, the EU’s contested influence on national healthcare reforms, and the neoliberal Trojan Horse of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

This volume examines the current state of Social Europe, as well as key issues in European social policy. The aim of this volume is to identify the EU's social policies and point to areas in which co-operation between member states is likely to produce best results.

He also explores what this new form of political activity means for European politics, arguing that the traditional positions of left and right may be becoming increasingly significant within the EU's evolving, transnational political culture.

This book examines the interconnections between the social policy-making at European level and implementation. It draws on different disciplinary and methodological approaches to social policy analysis while remaining as comprehensive as possible in the country coverage. This extended new edition takes account of the momentous changes that have taken place in the EU since 1995, incorporating new material on membership, legislation, and policy developments and making reference to the latest literature on the subject.

Today, many people agree that the EU lacks solidarity and needs a social dimension. This debate is not new, but until now the notion of a 'social Europe' remained vague and elusive. To make progress, we need a coherent conception of the reasons behind, and the agenda for, not a 'social Europe', but a new idea: a European Social Union. We must motivate, define, and demarcate an appropriate notion of European solidarity. We must also understand the legal and political obstacles, and how these can be tacked. In short, we need unequivocal answers to questions of why, what, and how: on that basis, we can define a clear-cut normative and institutional concept. That is the remit of this book: it provides an in-depth interdisciplinary examination of the rationale and the feasibility of a European Social Union. Outstanding scholars and top-level practitioners reflect on obstacles and solutions, from an economic, social, philosophical, legal, and political perspective.

Are social movement organizations euro-sceptical, euro-pragmatic, or euro-opportunist? Or do they accept the EU as a new level of governance to place pressure on? Do they provide a critical capital, necessary for the political structuring of the EU, or do they disrupt the process of EU integration? This book includes surveys of activists at international protest events targeting the European Union (for a total of about 5000 interviews); a discourse analysis of documents and transcripts of debates on European politics and policies conducted during the four European social forums held between 2002 and 2006 and involving hundreds of social movement organizations and tens of thousands of activists from all European countries; about 320 interviews with representatives of civil society organizations in six EU countries (France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy) and one non-member state (Switzerland), and a systematic claims analysis of the daily press in selected years between 1990 and 2003. The empirical research shows the different paths of Europeanization taken by social movements and civil society organizations.