Contents

Introduction / 1

Section I: An Empirical Research on the European Social Policy

Chapter 1: The Social Policy in the EU / 3

1. Framework of the European Social Policy / 3

2. Evolution of the EU 's Social Policy / 15

Chapter 2: The EU's Labor Policy / 29

1. Health and Safety Policy / 31

2. Labor Free Movement Policy / 35

3. Labor Law and Work Organization / 40

4. EU's Social Dialogue System / 45

5. EU's Vocational Education and Training Policy / 50

Chapter 3: EU's Social Protection Policy / 56

1. Gender Policy / 56

2. Social Inclusion Policy / 60

3. Social Protection Policy to Special Social Group / 65

Section II: Institutional Analyses of the European Social Policy

Chapter 4: The Decision Makers of the European Social Policy / 75

1. The Decision Makers / 75

2. The Decision Making Procedure / 85

3. The Cooperation Among Decision Makers / 96

Chapter 5: Formulation and Implementation of the European Social Policy / 101

1. Community Level: The Formulation of European Social Policy / 102

2. National Level: The Implementation Process / 107

Chapter 6: Evolution Process of the Community Redistribution Instrument / 115

1. Evolution of the European Social Fund / 115

2. Social Fund in Structural Funds / 121

3. Redistribution Mechanism in the EU's financial Framework / 126

Chapter 7: Structural Funds and European Social Policy / 133

1. Adjustments of Structural Funds in the EU / 133

2. Significance of Structural Funds to the European Social Policy / 140

3. Social Funds and European Social Policy / 146

Section III: Case Studies: "Limited Governance" of the European Social Policy

Chapter 8: Multilevel Governance and European Social Policy / 157

1. Governance Theory: Surpass the Governing of Nation States / 158

2. Multilevel Governance: The Official Philosophy of European Union / 160

3. Limited Governance: an Analysis to the European Social Policy / 164

Chapter 9: Pattern of Multilevel Governance: European Employment Strategy /170

1. EES: Demands and Method of Governance /171

2. Multilevel Governance Framework of the EES /176

3. Effects of Limited Governance: Achievements of the EES /180

Chapter 10: Ending Debates: Britain and European Social Policy / 187

1. Britain and Community Social Policy / 187

2. Reasons of Britain opposed Community Social Policy /190

3. What was Changed by Tony Blair?/ 194

4. "Limited Governance": Surpass the Debates on Sovereignty / 203

Chapter 11: Limited Governance: EU Enlargement and European Social Policy / 208

1. Social Challenges to the EU Enlargement / 209

2. Social Policy Arrangements in the EU Enlargement / 215

3. Limited Governance: Social Europe and Social Diversities / 222

Section IV: A Theoretical Approach to the European Social Policy

Chapter 12: A Dynamics Analysis of Community Social Policy / 231

1. Perspectives of European Integration Theories / 231

2. Evolution of Community Social Policy and Economic Integration / 236

3. Political Dynamics and Economic Dynamics / 245

Chapter 13: Effects of Political Factors on the Evolution of European Social policy / 251

1. Political Analysis to the Evolution of European Social Policy / 251

2. Effects of Political Ideas on the Evolution of European Social Policy / 259

Chapter 14: EU: a New Social Policy Area / 268

1. The Nature of European Social Policy / 268

2. Europeanization of Social Policy in the EU Member States / 276

3. A European Welfare State? / 288

Section V: "European Social Model" and European Integration

Chapter 15: Globalization Challenges Welfare States? A Background Analysis / 301

1. Welfare States and Globalization / 302

2. Queries for "Globalization Challenges Welfare State" / 306

3. Tactical Function of Globalization Challenge / 312

4. Challenge of Globalization vs. European Welfare State Reform / 317

Chapter 16: "European Social Model: A Retort to the Globalization"? / 323

1. Integration: A Retort of the Europe to the Globalization / 324

2. Integration: the Europeanization of Welfare States / 327

3. Challenge of Europeanization to Welfare States / 331

4. "European Social Model": an Attitude toward Globalization / 335

Chapter 17: EU: A Union of Welfare State Reform / 344

1. Diversities of Social Models in the EU / 344

2. Diversities and Commonalities in Welfare State Reform / 350

3. "European Social Model": A Union of Welfare State Reform / 355

Chapter 18: EU's Social Policy System and the Process of Europeanization / 367

1. EU's Social Policy System and European Identity / 367

2. EU's Social Policy System and European Construction / 377

3. EU's Social Policy System and European Governance / 387

Annex / 397

1. Abstract / 397

2. Index / 420

3. References / 425

Acknowledgements / 440

EUROPEAN SOCIAL POLICY AND EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

(Abstract)

This book makes a comprehensive study of the European social policy in the framework of European integration, from the special angle, explores the process, pattern and tendency of European integration. The book is divided into five sections: The first section is an empirical research on the evolution process and current policies of European social policy. The second section conducts institutional analyses of the decision-making mechanism and financial instrument of the European social policy, explores the institutional pattern that Community pushed the integration in the social policy field. The third section applies the governance theory to make three case studies of European social policy, including the study of European Employment Strategy, relation between Britain and the European social policy, and social policy arrangements in the process of EU eastward expansion. The fourth section is a theoretical approach to the evolution of European social policy, examines the theories of European integration from this angle, concludes that the EU has established a new supranational "social policy area" in Europe. The fifth section discusses the relation between the "European social policy system" and European integration: analyzes the background and significance of EU's concept "European social model", explores the EU's effect on the welfare state reform in the member states, and makes further explorations on the significances of European social policy system to establishing the European identity, constructing the notion of "Europe" at the social level and promoting a European governance of social policy in the European integration process.

I. AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL POLICY

Chapter 1. The Social Policy in the European Union

This chapter divides the European social policy into three levels: the constitutional principles, hard laws and soft laws; reviews briefly its evolution process, and analyses its progresses since the European Union established. At first, in history, the "constitutional basis" of European social policy was separated into two parts: the principle statements to the social objectives of European integration in the fundamental treaties, and a non-binding Social Chapter which defined the basic social rights of Community citizens. In 1997, Britain finally signed up to the social chapter, that the European social policy achieved an integrated constitutional basis. In 2004, the enlarged European Union subscribed the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe, which established a "Chapter of Fundamental Rights of the Union", accomplished the integration process of the Community social policy's constitutional basis. Second, at the "hard laws" level, the EEC had built up a complete legal system for the European social policy. However, owing to the Britain's "opt-out", the EU's supplementation to the legal system could only annexed behind the Masstricht Treaty as a Protocol. Until Britain changed its position to the European social policy, the Amsterdam summit could integrate the Protocol into the Union's fundamental treaty and add a special chapter on employment policy in the treaty, established a complete social policy legal framework in the Union. Thirdly, the EU made great progress at the "soft laws" level, in which the Community adopted the "social action program" and "policy coordination" as the main means for implementing the European social policy. While continuously organizing varieties Community social action programs, starting from the European Employment Strategy, the EU began to use the "open method of coordination" to promote the social policy convergence among the member states. In trends, the EU's progress in this aspect may influence the further development of the European social policy.

Chapter 2. The EU's Labor Policy

In the framework of EU's social policy, the regulative "hard laws" concentrated in the field of labor law. This chapter discusses the EU's labor policy, including the policy of "health and safety at work", "free movement of labor", "labor laws and working organization", "social dialogue", and "vocational education and training"; traces their evolution, and analyzes their developments in recent years. This chapter holds that, because the Community had built up a complete legal system in the labor policy field, the EU did not continue to enlarge the extent of its labor policy directives system, but began to reinforce the policy coordination among the national labor policies in the Community, introduced the mechanism of "soft laws" into the labor policy that the previous "hard laws" field. The Union paid its attention to improving the Community labor directives system to adapt the changing working world, and strengthening the social dialogues at its level to enhance the function of "European social partners" in the decision-making process of the European social policy. In the 1994 white paper for social policy and the Community social action program in 1998~2000, the European Commission made stress on "implementing and renewing" the existing directives to raise their adaptability to the new social risks and demands brought by the new technologies, rather than suggested enacting new labor policy directives. Meanwhile, in all fields of labor policy, the EU emphasized to enlarge the openness of policy decision-making, enhance the service function of the EU bodies, and strengthen the coordination among the member states.

Chapter 3. The EU's Social Protection Policy

The social protection policy fields that the Community entered include gender policy, social inclusion (anti-poverty) policy, ageing policy, disability policy, and youth policy. Unlike in the labor policy field, the Community mainly adopted the coordination method, rather than setting up directives system, in this field in history. After the EU established, the main development of European social protection policy is to promote the objectives and policies convergence among the member states. Firstly, the EU set up a "mainstreaming" strategy to promote its social protection policy objectives, to bring those objectives into all fields of Community policy, instead of confining it in a special policy. Secondly, in the social protection policy, the EU established a labor market-centered view, appealed the member states adapting the "active social protection policy", which considered labor market as the first choice of resolving the social problems. This policy trend was introduced into all fields of European social policy. To sum up, the main function of the Union in the social protection field is to coordinate the policy objectives and measures in the member states, construct the framework of exchange and cooperation for the multilevel national actors, rather than create a set of regulative standards or statutes at the Community level.

II. INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSES OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL POLICY

Chapter 4. The Decision-makers of the European Social Policy

This chapter analyzes the composition of the decision-makers of the European social policy, their decision-making pattern, and their "opening cooperation relations". The main decision-makers of the European social policy includes the Ministerial Council for the Employment and Social Policy, the "Directorates-general for Employment and Social Policy" in the European Commission, the "Employment and Social Policy Committee" in the European Parliament, and the consultative European Economic and Social Committee and Regional Committee. In addition, the case law of European Justice Court also played crucial role in the evolution of European social policy. This chapter holds that, the European social policy was founded on the common will of the member states, is a result of the interaction among the multilevel political actors in the Community, rather than an outcome of the supranational bodies' promotion. At the institutional level, the formulation and implementation of European social policy was separately conducted at the Community and national level, is a political process that the member states exercise the "shared sovereignty". This is a complicated "double layers game", in which the multilevel actors established the intricate interactive relations. In this process, the EU bodies was not so much the "decision-maker" of the European social policy as the "coordinator" of the multilevel interests in the Community.

Chapter 5. The Formulation and Implementation of European Social Policy

This chapter analyzes the multilevel interaction and opening cooperation in the process of formulation and implementation of the European social policy. Firstly, theoretically, the decision-making process of European social policy can be divided into two steps: the Directorates General (DG) for social policy provides the proposal, then the Ministerial Council and the social policy committee of European Parliament make "co-decision" on it. However, in practice, the process is actually much more complicated. Only after widespread debates, consultations, and conciliations at the Community and national level can the Commission initiative become legislative proposal. Simi larly, the process from proposal to legislation needs further negotiation and coordination among the Union bodies, national authorities, and European interest groups. Secondly, the European social policy is implemented at the national level, which is another interaction process between the multilevel Community bodies and national actors. In this process, the Community directives need to be transplanted into the framework of national law, and the Community coordination mechanism needs to be supported by the national institutional arrangement. The function of the supranational bodies is to promote and monitor the national governments to carry out the Community decisions. The main measure of "promoting" is to organize the further negotiations and conciliations among the national actors, while the means of "monitoring" includes "informing" and "persuading" the member state that violated the Community decision, and, after those measures failed, to sue them in the European Court. The national governments are the chief organizer and administer in the process of implementation, which key function is to coordinate the relations among the interest groups in the country, and bring the European decisions into the national institutional framework in the proper ways. Therefore, the formulation and implementation of the European social policy is an opening interaction process, in which does not exist an independent "Community will" beyond the consensus among the member states.

Chapter 6. Evolution Process of the Community Redistribution Instrument

This chapter traces the evolution of the social redistribution instrument in the Community, analyzes its basic structure, and discusses its function in the EU's financial framework. At the national level, the social policy was founded upon massive social redistribution. Comparatively, the extent and scale of social redistribution at the Community level is very narrow. The main financial instrument of Community social redistribution is the European Social Fund (ESF), which is strictly confined to provide financial assistance to the retraining projects in its less developed regions in the Community. In history, the ECSC began to subsidize the national projects of vocational training and unemployment relief to the workers whose job was affected in the integration process. The EEC established the ESF, which further concentrated on the vocational training projects in the poor regions within the Community. In the late 1970s, the ESF was merged into the Structural Funds, became a component of a larger-scale Community redistribution instrument. Henceforth, the scale of Community redistribution among the member states became increasingly large. However, in trends, the structural funding will not become a financial instrument of a "supranational government", but construct a framework for the "multilevel governance", in which the EU bodies, national governments, local authorities can find their own positions and resolve the new problems. In a sense, the evolution process of the Community's redistribution instrument is an epitome of the European integration process.

Chapter 7. Structural Funds and European Social Policy

This chapter analyzes the process that the EU adjusted the Structural Funds in the 1990s, discusses the relation between the Community's regional policy and social policy, and explores the functions of structural funding in the framework of European social policy. After the EU established, the social redistribution mechanism in the Community experienced a radical change in objectives, amount, and administration. In 1992, the EU made a comprehensive expansion to the Structural Funds: broadened the coverage of its target social groups and regions, enlarged the funding scale, and extended the Commission's competence of projects examination and the budget for its own "initiative projects". However, under the pressure of eastward enlargement, the expansive tendency of structural funding was controlled immediately: in 1997, the EU emerged the objectives of the Funds, limited the increase of structural spending, and reconfined the initiative rights of Commission in this field. In a sense, the evolution of the structural funding in the 1990s demonstrated that the development direction of the European social policy was shifting from enhancing the function of supranational factors to strengthening the coordination among the member states. Theoretically, the Structural Funds is a financial framework contained both "regional policy" and "social policy" objectives, established a transfer system to the poverty regions and disadvantaged social groups in the Community. Seen from the angle of social policy study, on both aspects the funding has the function of social redistribution, is an important instrument to reach the social objectives of the European integration. By the Funds, therefore, the Community's regional policy and social policy found a joint-point. On the institutional level, due to scope of the funding limited, the Community has to select an appropriate angle to "cut in" the social policy system in the member states. For this reason, the Community concentrated the funding on assisting the national projects of "retraining the disadvantage groups in the less developed areas". However, in the process of the co-funding projects running, the community built up a framework of multilevel interaction among the supranational bodies, national governments, local authorities, and interest groups by the "pathway" strategy. Meantime, the social funding projects made the "encouragement" and "demonstration" effects on the national social policy, so that the Community might use the limited competence of project administration to influence the policy trends in the member states, in order to attain the goal of innovating or implementing the ideas of the European social policy.

III. CASE STUDIES: "LIMITED GOVERNANCE" OF EUROEPAN SOCIAL POLICY

Chapter 8. Multilevel Governance and the European Social Policy

The "governance theory" offers a different perspective on the modern politics from the traditional "state-centralism" theories. Due to it makes stress on the limitation to the national politics, this view have a powerful function of explanation and construction to the European integration. Therefore, since the late 1990s, the theory of governance became an "official philosophy" at the EU level. In this theoretical view, the Union obtained its definite political position by delimiting its scope of action in a multilevel political framework. This chapter holds that, the Community politics should be described as a kind of "limited governance"; since it is limited, therefore it is definite. In the European social policy, the feature of EU's "limited governance" is very obvious. Firstly, it is a "limited policy": its policy area is confined to the labor policy and social protection policy to the disadvantage groups, its policy precondition is the issues "concerning with the integration" or "common concerned" by the member states, and its implementation pattern is limited to the "Community legislation and national implementation" or "Community coordination and national action". Therefore, the Union is not an "independent actor" in the social policy field. But secondly, the EU's social policy has its own definite functions: it deals with the common problems faced by the member states, and promotes the coordination within the Community. To sum up, in the social policy field, the EU does not replace the function of national governments, but built a new institutional framework at the Community level. Of course, the boundary of European governance is of mobility, rather than rigidity. However, the analysis to the changing boundary of governance is also a component of the discussion on the limits of governance. After the EU established, the governance pattern of the European social policy has had an obvious change: the focal point shifted from the construction of the Community law system to the coordination of national social policies, or in other words, the convergence among the member states.

Chapter 9. Pattern of Multilevel Governance: European Employment Strategy

This chapter makes a case study of the European Employment Strategy (EES), which built up a coordination framework of the national employment policies in the Community. The Strategy introduced an "open method of co-ordination" into the European social policy, strengthened the multilevel interaction mechanism in Community social action, promoted the transformation of idea from the "governing" to the "governance" in the field of Community social policy. At first, the EES set up a system of "management by objectives", in which the multilevel actors interacted; and an "annual review system", which created the condition for the "multilateral monitoring". In this way, the Union may influence the national employment policies by a kind of "soft pressure", rather than legal regulations at the Community level. Secondly, in the process of performing the EES, the European bodies, national governments, local authorities, and multilevel social partners all obtained the right to participate the formulation of European Employment Guideline. The openness of the EES decision-making reached an unprecedented degree in the framework of European social policy. Because the EES has not any binding regulations to the national policies, the governments of the member states are still taking the major responsibility for their employment policies. However, by the consensus on the common objectives and priority fields, the employment policies in the member states are increasing the degree of convergence under the soft pressure of multilevel actors. The EES built up an open "community" mechanism, in which the supranational bodies are the "coordinator" or "organizer", rather than the "governor". In this mechanism, the main function of EU bodies is to promote the member states adjusting their employment policy in accordance with the ideas and objectives established at the EU level, instead of setting up a new employment policy beyond the national policies. In practice, the EES produced remarkable effects on the national employment policies, and promoted the policy convergence among the member states in this field. Therefore, it became a exemplar for the Union's social policy coordination strategy, and its pattern of OMC was expanded to other social policy fields, particular in the social inclusion policy, pension reform, and disability policy.

Chapter 10. Ending Debates: Britain and European Social Policy

This chapter applies the theory of "limited governance" to examine the process that Britain changed its position to the European social policy, from its main opponent to an important "promoter". It is believed that the European social policy, at least its directives system, was established according to the policy pattern in the European continental countries. The United Kingdom has great differences in political culture and social model from them, that it might meet more challenges on the sovereign issues, and pay more social costs for implementing the Community social directives. However, after Blair government came to power in 1997, Britain's attitude to the European social policy was completely changed. Blair government recognized that, Britain's self-isolation toward the European social policy had damaged its national interests. Only if it set up an "active view of sovereign", can Britain make its own effects on the Social Europe construction. Nevertheless, Blair emphasized at the same time, the European social policy that he supported should be a coordination framework among the EU member states, not a supranational regulative mechanism. This idea played a crucial role in the process that the EU shifted its social policy trend from the directive pattern to the open method of coordination. Meanwhile, Blair government made great effect on the adding of a new employment policy chapter into the Rome Treaty in the Amsterdam EU summit. Therefore, it is due to the EU established the principle of "limited governance" in its social policy, both on the "priority area (employment policy)" and "implementation method (open method of coordination)", Britain altered its standpoint to the European social policy. When the Community surmounted the British veto in the European Council by the mechanism of qualified majority voting to push on the development of European social policy, Britain finally chose the "opt-out". It brought the pressure of isolation on Britain in the Community, but set an obstacle to the development of European social policy too. At present, by the definite limits of Community social policy governance, the Union ultimately ceased the debate on the issue with Britain.

Chapter 11. Limited Governance: EU Enlargement and European Social Policy

This chapter describes the "social challenges" towards the EU enlargement, reviews the Union's social policy arrangements in the process, and discusses the relation between the "limited governance" of European social policy and the construction of "social Europe". The eastward extension posed huge social challenges to the EU, including the labor costs gap between the old and new member states, the financial pressure on the Structural Funds, and the problem of controlling the migrant flow from new member states, etc. However, in the process of enlargement, the EU only set up limited social policy targets, regarded the social affairs close related with the integration as priority areas, and left the higher social integration goals to deal with in the future. At first, the EU chose the reform of Structural Funds and the negotiation about people free movement as the priority areas, to eliminate the main social obstacles in the process of eastward expansion. Second, before the candidate countries joined the Union, the EU had brought them into the Community social policy fields in which adopted the open coordination method, including the European Employment Strategy, the Community social inclusion action program, and the policy coordination on the pension reform in the member states, to promote the social policy convergence between the new and old member states. In principle, the EU has enlarged the boundary of "social Europe" to the new member states. But in its social policy practice, the EU actually maintained the "differential Europe". It illustrated the basic feature of limited governance in the European social policy: the target of "Eurogovernance" is limited, even in a long-term perspective, it is hardly imagined a social Europe in complete equivalent social standard and social model. However, at the same time, the "Eurogovernance" must be effective on ensuring that the extent of social differences among the member states are not large enough to damage the European integration.

IV．A THEORETICAL APPROACH TO THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL POLICY

Chapter 12. A Dynamics Analysis of the Community Social Policy

This chapter applies the European integration theories to analyze the "economic dynamic" and "political dynamic" in the evolution of European social policy. From the view of neo-functionalism, the evolution of European social policy can be considered as a process of "dual spillovers" in the integration: it is a result of economic integration at first; in addition, it is a process of "self-spillover" on its own logic. The historical institutionalists argued that, the economic integration could promote the integration process in other fields, however, the precondition is the "economic dynamic" must be translated into "political dynamic" to impel the institutional changes. The liberal intergovernmentalists insisted that, the European social policy is evolved on the basis of the common will of the member state governments, and there is not a "spillover" from the economic integration to social policy field. This chapter holds that, the development of economic integration pushed the evolution of European social policy, but the evolution is a political process after all, the political will of member states and the institutional changes in the Community are its direct cause. In the development of the European social policy, the economic dynamic and political dynamic belong to the different theoretical level, the former promoted the latter, but the latter gave the direct impetus to the evolution of the policy.

Chapter 13. Effects of Political Factors on Evolution of European Social policy

This chapter applies the theories of European integration to examine the effects of "political factors", which refers to the political institution and political ideas, on the evolution of European social policy. Firstly, in political institution, the various theories of integration have different understandings in the function of supranational bodies in the process of European integration. The neo-functionalists regarded the supranational bodies and European interest groups as the most important promoter of the European integration. When we analyze the role of Community actors (such as European Commission, European Parliament, and "European social partners") played in the evolution of European social policy, the view of functionalism seems to be valid. The institutionalists considered the European integration as a process of "supranational maneuver", made stress on the importance of institutional changes in the process. The exponents of historical institutionalism, Leibfried and Pierson(1995) held that, the institutional "gap" emerged in the process of integration progressively restricted the absolute domination of national governments, that the supranational bodies could construct an interaction framework in the Community to promote the development of European social policy. Secondly, the European integration can be seen as an idea process: at the first level, the integration was founded on "the idea of European unity"; at the second level, the various European political ideas made great effects on the integration. In the evolution of European social policy, the Community's social objectives was an outcome of European social ideas, embodied the European identity in the social field. At the same time, the political ideas of neo-liberalism, corporatism, and social democracy made great influences on the evolution pathway and policy pattern of European social policy in different periods. To sum up, the European social policy evolved in a framework of multilevel interaction among the national and supranational actors in the Community, that those actors' own political attributes and their new properties emerged in the interaction could influence the development direction of the policy.

Chapter 14. EU: A New Social Policy Area

This chapter examines the nature of European social policy. Firstly, the policy has gone beyond the extent of international coordination to the national social policies, but it did not tend to replace the latter, it is a policy that situated between the "national" and "international". Secondly, the social policy system in the member states entered a comprehensive "Europeanisation" process: at the constitutional level, a concept of "European social citizenship" has been established; at the legal level, the member states has brought a great deal of Community social directives and regulations into their national social law system; at the policy level, by the "benchmarking" strategy of the open coordination method, the influence of Community has actually penetrated into all fields of social policy in the member states. To sum up, in the process of European integration, the Union has found its own position in field of social policy, constructed a new social policy area on basis of the social policy in the member states. In this area, the Community and the national governments each have their responsibility according to a definite division of duties, made joint efforts to construct a new social policy system in the Union. However, even in trends, the EU only can be described as a "welfare states union", rather than a "welfare union" as a nation state. Only if its differences from the national welfare states are fully emphasized, the concept of a "European welfare state" can be tenable in theory as well as in practice.

V．"EUROPEAN SOCIAL MODEL" AND EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

Chapter 15. Background Analysis: Globalization Challenges Welfare States?

This chapter examines the idea of "welfare states are facing the challenges of globalization", discusses the function of the idea in the reform of welfare states, and demonstrates the relevance between the idea and the concept of "European social model" that the EU coined. The chapter holds that, "globalization challenges welfare states" is a plausible idea between "fable" and "reality". Empirical studies showed that, the difficulties met by west European welfare states since the 1980s rooted in their own internal social changes. The "globalization" is no more than an external factor, rather than the ultimate reason of those difficulties. However, in the transformation of welfare states, the idea of "globalization challenges" has a strong "tactical function", which played crucial roles in forming the social atmosphere of favorable to the reform and eliminating the resistance against the welfare retrenchments at the national level, promoted the policy convergence among the EU member states in the reform of welfare states. Since the 1990s, the judgments about "globalization challenges" entered the EU's "official ideology". It not only was a consensus of the governments of member states, but also an important tactic of EU to promote the European integration. In 2000, the European Commission claimed in its "Social Policy Agenda", for reaching the Lisbon Targets, turns the EU within the next decade into "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world", the "European social model" must be modernized, that the importance of the Community actions in field of social policy was enhanced to a new level.

Chapter 16. "European Social Model": A Retort to Globalization?

This chapter examines the relationship between the globalization and European integration, on this basis, evaluates the concept of "European social model" that EU coined in 2000. Theoretically, the European integration could be seen as a retort to the process of globalization, as well as its component or a "step" in Europe. Therefore, the EU would bear duties to the welfare state system in the member states in two aspects. On the one hand, it ought to maintain the European social value in the context of globalization to ensure the European life style is not changed. On another hand, it should promote the transformation of the welfare states to keep their advantaged position in the global economic competition. Actually, the concept of "European social model" made responses to the two aspects at the same time: at first, the EU emphasized the common feature of the social models in the member states, regarded the value of social justice and social solidarity as the basis of European social identity. Simultaneously, the EU made stress on stengthening the "adaptability" of European social model to the internal social changes and globalization process, regarded the modernising of European social model as the only way to maintain its sustainability. According to the EU's understanding, the modernization of European social model would be materialized in a set of objectives and actions, including increasing employment, improving industrial relations, enhancing the adapability of social security system, etc. In all those aspects, the Union would play greater role. Therefore, the idea of modernizing European social model indicated the EU had shifted itself from a "welfare states union" to a "welfare states reform union".

Chapter 17. EU: A Union of Welfare States Reform

This chapter examines the functions of EU in the reform of national welfare state. Firstly, the typological studies demonstrated the diversities in finacial and social security systems among the EU member states. But since the 1980s, those countries met some common challenges. In the Social Policy Agenda, the EU confirmed the common problems met by the national welfare state system, as well as the common roots of those problems, thereby constructed the Union as a "union of problems" in the transformation of welfare states. Secondly, by the concept of "European social model", the EU integrated the member states as a "union of value". In this union, the common social values and life style would be preserved. However, only the institutional reforms could enhance the adaptability of welfare states, maintain its sustainable development, and preserve its basic social values. The Union established the common objectives for the national policies in the transformation of welfare state, including increasing employment, fighting against social exclusion, advocating the equal treatment between the men and women, promoting the shift from social welfare to the "social investment". Thirdly, in the process of welfare state reform, the EU also should be an active "union of institution". The main challenge met by the "union of welfare states reform" was the diversities among the member states. In this aspect, the open method of coordination provided a practical institutional framework, that it became the main means that the Union integrated the welfare reform measures in the member states.

Chapter 18. European Social Policy System and the Process of Europeanization

This chapter illustrates the function of the "European social policy system" in the process of Europeanizatioon. Theoretically, the "Europeanization" can be seen as process of establishing "European identity", conducting the "political construction", and building up the European "governance network". In all those aspects, the Union's social policy system played important role. At first, the "European social model" is in the core of "European identity", the European social policy has the function to "close to the citizens" and increase the legitimacy for the European integration, and the concept of "European social citizenship" constructed by the EU became a new foundation of the European social identity. Secondly, in the process of integration, the "Europe" initially emerged as an economic concept. Until the EU created the concept of "European social model", the notion of Europe at the social level was established. The process of Europeanization at the social level has constructed a "double decks" European social policy system: at the EU level, the framework of Community social policy became increasingly maturity, the extent and depth of social policy coordination among the member states was continuously improved. However, the EU does not establish a social policy system similar with nation state; the governments of member states still are in the core of their national social policy system. Thirdly, the EU has constructed a European governance framework in the social policy field, which target is not to eliminate the institutional and policy diversities among the member states, but constructs an institutional framework of Europeanization on the basis of differences. The Europeanization is a process of transforming the "nation states" to the "post nation states": the EU's post national political system did not eliminate the functions of nation states, but performed those functions in a larger territory.