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Themes
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Employment |
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Equality and
Non- discrimination |
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Health
Care |
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Institutional
issues |
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Restructurations |
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Social
Dialogue |
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Social
Inclusion |
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Social
Protection |
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The
OSE examines various employment-related topics and participates in
several projects in this area. A cross-cutting approach to labour
market policies and problems is favoured (social dialogue,
restructuring, CSR, quality of work, flexicurity, job insecurity, the
working poor, working conditions, governance, etc.), particularly in
the context of the European Employment Strategy. Some of these issues
constitute specific research topics in their own right and are not
included here (see entries on restructuring, social dialogue, CSR and
governance).
The
OSE has also devoted particular attention to two other issues: quality
of work and the working poor.
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Equality
and Non-Discrimination
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The
principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination lie at the heart
of the European social model. They are a key aspect of the fundamental
rights and values upon which European integration itself is based.
Community law has raised the level of protection from discrimination,
making it possible to develop a consistent approach founded on rights
such as immigration, labour market integration, inclusion and
employment.
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The OSE has been involved since the late
1990s in research and policy advising
on issues related to the impact of European integration on national healthcare systems and their social character.
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Since
the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union has been
engaged in an ongoing process of institutional reform. The Treaty of
Lisbon represents the latest attempt to equip the Union with
institutional arrangements intended to improve the functioning of the
enlarged Union. However, the failure of the referendum processes to
ratify the Treaty of Lisbon and, before it, the Constitutional Treaty
highlights the gulf between Europe's elite and its citizens, sometimes
for contrasting reasons.
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Restructuring
is a constant feature of the European Union's existence in a globalised
world. The Observatoire social européen monitors developments by
examining existing practices and arrangements as well as strategies for
anticipating and managing industrial change, especially in respect of
training and labour market reintegration.
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Social
dialogue is the linchpin of the European social model. It operates at
cross-industry level and, especially since 1998, at sectoral
level. The OSE has a detailed database of documents issued by
the sectoral social dialogue committees, which it constantly monitors.
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The OSE's work in the development of the Open Method
of Coordination (OMC) in the field of social inclusion can be sub-divided into two main themes: firstly, contributing to knowledge
about, and the analysis of, poverty and social exclusion (including the use
of indicators) in the context of the OMC, and, secondly, analysing the
OMC as a tool of flexible governance (including the evaluation of its
"participatory" dimension and its "effectiveness"
at national level).
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Social
Protection
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Building
on its initial research activities on the issue of "social
convergence", the Observatoire social européen was one of the
first research centres to point out the paramount social challenges
connected with the launch of Economic and Monetary Union in 1999
and European
Union enlargement in 2004. Subsequent research has dealt with issues
such as social security coordination and, more recently, the role and
effects of the EU’s 'soft' governance of social inclusion, pensions,
healthcare and employment policy, notably through the Open Method of
Coordination (OMC). The challenge of ageing has been at the
centre of the most recent research activities and publications, which
include analyses of demographic trends and projections in EU countries
and tackle the issue of "hybridisation" of pension systems in
the EU.
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