It is now largely admitted that when trying to understand the recent evolutions of the welfare states, one should include a European perspective. On the basis of the division of powers organised by the Treaties, the Member States retain the core and the essence of their competences in social policy. Nevertheless, national social policies are submitted to a far-reaching impact of the instruments of economic integration (freedoms of movement, competition and monetary Union). This impact is counterbalanced, at least to some extent, by social instruments at EU level such as classic European law, European collective agreements, the Open method of coordination and the European social funds
In that sense, Europeanization can be defined as the totality of the adjustment process at the institutional, strategic and normative level, and which are induced by the European construction. It is a process that affects the institutional frame, a frame that determines the interactions between public and private actors, that changes the preferences and motivations guiding the actors’ choices, and beyond, that affects the cognitive framework behind the public actions.
The principal aim of the seminar is to propose a better understanding of the Europeanization of social
policies. We will proceed in three steps. The first step will be an
attempt to theorize the process, the posture to adopt regarding
the existing debates in the field and the important aspects that
should be analyzed, such as the uploading and downloading process.
In the second step, special attention will be given to the
specific impacts of the different Europeanization tools. Looking at the OMC, it is for example possible to observe that national actors will use this tool if it reinforces their positions, but by doing that, they will also integrate, at least to some extent, European orientations. In the final step, we will study the link between the Europeanization process and the evolution of national welfare states, intending at having a better understanding of the common constraints and/or of the common evolutions of those states. |
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This
seminar is supported by The
Centre the Recherches Politiques de Science Po (CEVIPOF), in
collaboration with the Observatoire Social Européen (OSE), the
Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), the Katholieke
Universiteit Leuven (K.U.
Leuven), the Faculté Universitaire Saint-Louis (FUSL), and
the Belgian Federal Public Service of Social Security, organizes
this seminar on the Europeanization of social policies. This
seminar takes place in the framework of a research project named:
“European Tools for Social Policy in Belgium”, financed by the
Belgian Federal Ministry of Scientific Policy.
CONTACT:
CEVIPOF, Marie-Pierre Hamel
mariepierre.hamel@sciences-po.org
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