Social Policy and the Euro Crisis: Quo Vadis Social Europe

In this study, an international and multidisciplinary team take stock of the promise and shortfalls of 'Social Europe' today, examining the response to the Eurocrisis, the past decade of social policy in the image of the Lisbon Agenda, and the politics that derailed a more Delorsian Europe from ever emerging. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction: The Pursuit of Social Europe in the Face of Crisis....Pages 1-23 Social Europe and the Eurozone Crisis: The Importance of the Balance of Class Power in Society....Pages 24-44 Whatever Happened to Social Europe? The Three-Pronged Attack on European Social Policy....Pages 45-62 Social Europe and Scandinavia — Impacts on and Impacts from Work and Employment Regulation....Pages 63-85 Euro-Unionism and Wage Policy. The German Paradox: A Driving Force But Also a Brake?....Pages 86-113 The Vanishing Promise of a More ‘Social’ Europe: Public Services Before and After the Debt Crisis....Pages 114-139 Social Europe: From ‘Add-On’ to ‘Dependence-Upon’ Economic Integration....Pages 140-160 A Multi-Layered Social Europe? Three Emerging Transnational Social Duties in the EU....Pages 161-181 Conclusion: Social Europe Is Dead. What’s Next?....Pages 182-210 Back Matter....Pages 211-214 "Whatever happened to Social Europe? The promise of Jacques Delors seems to have spawned a flurry of European Union directives, yet has since fizzled out. This edited volume, bringing together a team of international interdisciplinary experts from across Europe, systematically explores the EU's social policy activities, both before and after the Eurocrisis. The contributors examine how and why the great expectations remained unfulfilled, but also move the scholarly debate beyond the emphasis on courts and markets. European Commission policy entrepreneurship, eastern enlargement, the shifting ideological contours of European Social Democracy, and the spirit of the Lisbon Agenda have all led to market creation taking strong precedence over market correcting policies. This insightful and comprehensive volume will be of great interest to European Union scholars and practitioners alike"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Contents 6 List of Tables, Figures, and Boxes 7 Preface 8 List of Contributors 10 1 Introduction: The Pursuit of Social Europe in the Face of Crisis 11 2 Social Europe and the Eurozone Crisis: The Importance of the Balance of Class Power in Society 34 3 Whatever Happened to Social Europe? The Three-Pronged Attack on European Social Policy 55 4 Social Europe and Scandinavia – Impacts on and Impacts from Work and Employment Regulation 73 5 Euro-Unionism and Wage Policy. The German Paradox: A Driving Force But Also a Brake? 96 6 The Vanishing Promise of a More ‘Social’ Europe: Public Services Before and After the Debt Crisis 124 7 Social Europe: From ‘Add-On’ to ‘Dependence-Upon ’Economic Integration 150 8 A Multi-Layered Social Europe? Three Emerging Transnational Social Duties in the EU 171 9 Conclusion: Social Europe Is Dead. What’s Next? 192 Index 221