Social policy in the European Union 1999-2019: the long and winding road

This research project culminated in the 20th edition of Social policy in the EU: state of play. This anniversary edition looks back at the main developments in EU social policymaking over the past two decades. Key questions addressed in this volume include: what was the place of the social dimension during the financial and economic crisis?; who has driven, and who has braked, EU social policymaking?; which instruments does the EU have at its disposal for ‘market correcting’ policies?; and what are the next steps in the further implementation of the EU’s social dimension, especially in the context of the European Pillar of Social Rights? Despite many optimistic statements by the EU leaders, social policy remains a ‘nice to have’ (if and when the economic and political context allows for it), not a ‘must have’.
 
Contributors to this edition: Denis Bouget, Rob Cornelissen, Valerie D’Erman, Frederic De Wispelaere, Boris Fronteddu, Sacha Garben, Paolo Graziano, Roberta Guerrina, Philippe Pochet, Laura Polverari, Jean-Paul Tricart, Bart Vanhercke and Amy Verdun