Within the European Union, social security basically remains a national field of competence. The lack of common norms has paved the way for a large disparity in social protection between EU Member States, which is not conducive to the European single market. Moreover, it may lead to an increase in poverty and social exclusion in some regions and intensify economic competition between Member States on the basis of labor costs. At the same time, almost all EU Member States are bound by one or more international social security instruments developed by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and by the Council of Europe. The most important instrument, ILO Convention No. 102 on Minimum Standards of Social Security, was adopted in 1952 with a view to promoting the right to social security for everyone, to guide nations in the development of their social security systems, to create higher standards, and to prevent an imbalance in markets caused by unequal social costs. From the perspective of two case studies, this book addresses the question whether the standards are still suitable to meet their objectives 60 years after their creation. For example, can they still be used as a benchmark for the development of social security systems? Do they contribute to better social protection? And do they provide a common basis for social security within the EU context? The study starts with an in-depth analysis of the international standards, followed by the case studies of the Czech Republic and Estonia. The country studies provide a description of the national social security systems and a comparison of these systems with international standards. The last part of the book comprises conclusions and discussions regarding the applicability and adequacy of the international standards in the two countries, which are, however, also relevant to other EU Member States. (Series: Social Europe - Vol. 28)

The twelve remarkable essays in this book explore this vital issue from a number of enlightening perspectives. European Social Security and Global Politics represents a partial gleaning of the September 2001 conference-held in Bergen, Norway-of the European Institute of Social Security, a leading multidisciplinary research group and the vanguard of the debate on social security in Europe. Fifteen highly committed researchers and administrators from all over Europe offer in-depth analysis and conclusions in such crucial areas as: how globalisation increases inequality and hinders redistribution of wealth how certain social security policies hamper the free movement of workers the elusive promise of regional social security in Europe essential elements of any proposed global social security policy various reform initiatives for the fair administration of pension schemes In addition to the invaluable individual insights advanced in each paper, two notable trends seem to pervade the entire conference. One is the growing divergence of social security policy within European countries, coexisting uneasily with EU measures against social exclusion; the other is the sudden clarity of principle and design in the European welfare state when seen against the virtual anarchy of the globalisation model. Where these trends may lead us is only beginning to come into focus, and this book is among the first to sharpen the images of the possible futures in European social security that are likely to emerge in the next decade. All professionals in any aspect of social security policy or study will benefit enormously from this provocative book, not only in Europe but throughout the world.

This book examines the relations between security, identity and collective memory, focusing on the dynamics of identity formation among the elites of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in relation to security and foreign policy in the post-Cold War era.

This book engages with key contemporary European security issues from a variety of different theoretical standpoints, in an attempt to uncover the drivers of foreign policy and defence integration in the EU. Although European foreign policy has been attracting an ever-increasing number of International Relations (IR) scholars since the end of the Cold War, consensus on what drives European foreign policy integration has not yet emerged. This book seeks to encourage debate on this issue by examining a wide range of high-profile security issues which have roused significant interest from policy makers, academics and the public in recent years. The volume discusses, amongst other issues, the strategic posture of the European Union as a security actor, the troubled relationship with Russia, the debate regarding France’s relations with the US following France’s rapprochement with NATO and the EU’s influence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The collective intent of the contributors to highlight the drivers of EU foreign policy and defence integration ties together the wide variety of topics covered in this volume, forming it into a comprehensive overview of this issue. By paying considerable attention not just to the internal drivers of EU cooperation, but also to the critical role played by the US as an incentive or obstacle to European security, this book presents a unique contribution to this field of debate. This book will be of much interest to students of European security, IR theory, Transatlantic Relations, European politics and EU foreign policy.

Two major themes in contemporary international relations—Sino-European relations and global governance—are both addressed in this volume. In its focused analysis of Sino-European relations, global governance serves as both a topic for analysis and a conceptual framework to join together individual chapters. Featuring perspectives from a diverse group of established and promising young scholars from China, Europe, and elsewhere, this book has important implications for Chinese foreign policy, the European Union, the future of global governance, and international relations at large.

In many countries regional and local authorities are given more powers in the field of social security. Supposedly, this is a general trend taking place throughout the developed world and beyond. In this volume the processes of devolution and decentralisation in social security are researched from a comparative European perspective, taking into account the constitutional setting and the architecture of the social security systems. The book includes thirteen country studies based on a uniform format and three overarching contributions. The greater picture that emerges is that social insurance and family allowances are still very much a national competence and are predominantly functionally decentralised to a number of specialised agencies and institutions. There are only limited exceptions. A different conclusion must be drawn when we look at social assistance and social care. In many countries the role of local authorities has gradually increased over a longer period. However, in some countries this trend is reversing, and municipal powers are being limited or even taken back by central government. Devolution and Decentralisationin Social Security shows how complex, differentiated and nationally diverse the state of devolution and decentralisation in Europe actually is. This book is of particular interest to scholars in the field of social policy and social security, constitutionalists and policy makers who are interested in local administration.

This edited collection contributes to studies of intra-EU migration and mobility, welfare, and European social citizenship by focusing on transnational labour movements from new to the old EU member states (Hungary–Austria, Bulgaria–Germany, Poland–UK and Estonia–Sweden). The volume provides a comparative analysis of formal organization and mobile individuals’ use of European social security coordination, which involves mobile Europeans' access to and portability of social security rights from the sending to the receiving country (and back). The book discloses the selectivity criteria of welfare provision in four areas (unemployment, family benefits, health insurance, and pensions) that lay at heart of European cross-border social security governance. It also identifies specific discourses of belonging (gendered, ethnicized/racialized and class-related images of ‘Us’ and ‘Them’) that frame the institutional selectivity by constructing images of mobile EUcitizens' ‘deserving’ or ‘non-deserving’ social membership. The collection offers a detailed examination of inequality experiences mobile EU citizens from the new EU countries encounter while accessing and porting social security rights across borders. It will be of interest to a wide range of social science and interdisciplinary researchers, students, and practitioners as well as those interested in intra-EU migration and mobility, social security, European social citizenship, and transnational studies.