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The European Semester and EU Social Policy

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  • Paul Copeland
  • Mary Daly

Abstract

Europe 2020 and the European Semester signal a major change of direction in EU social policy with new governance arrangements, policy orientations and politics. This paper analyses 290 Country Specific Recommendations and 29 interviews to answer two questions: 1) What type of social policy is being advanced by the EU at present? 2) How are EU social actors able to advance EU social policy under current conditions? It argues that the degree of progress in EU social policy in the European Semester (2011–15) has been conditional and contingent. EU social policy is more oriented to supporting market development than it is to correcting for market failures. We explain these developments by a combination of factors including the strong agency exerted by some social actors in a context of constraint, the moderation of expectations and the adoption of strategic practices by key actors, and political divisions among the Member States.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Copeland & Mary Daly, 2018. "The European Semester and EU Social Policy," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(5), pages 1001-1018, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:56:y:2018:i:5:p:1001-1018
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.12703
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    Cited by:

    1. Beatrice Carella & Paolo Graziano, 2022. "Back to the Future in EU Social Policy? Endogenous Critical Junctures and the Case of the European Pillar of Social Rights," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(2), pages 374-390, March.
    2. Valerie J. D'Erman & Daniel F. Schulz & Amy Verdun & Dennis Zagermann, 2022. "The European Semester in the North and in the South: Domestic Politics and the Salience of EU‐Induced Wage Reform in Different Growth Models," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 21-39, January.
    3. Rosalind Cavaghan & Anna Elomäki, 2022. "Dead Ends and Blind Spots in the European Semester: The Epistemological Foundation of the Crisis in Social Reproduction," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 885-902, July.
    4. Charlotte Wüst & Nicky Rogge, 2022. "How is the European Union progressing towards its Europe 2020 targets? A benefit-of-the-doubt window analysis," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 49(2), pages 405-438, May.
    5. Wasilewski Adam & Krzyżanowski Julian & Chmieliński Paweł, 2021. "Complementarity of the Measures of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Cohesion Policy for Rural Development Between 2021 And 2027 in the Light of Programing Documents," Problems of Agricultural Economics / Zagadnienia Ekonomiki Rolnej 319674, Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics - National Research Institute (IAFE-NRI).
    6. Muireann O'Dwyer, 2022. "Gender and Crises in European Economic Governance: Is this Time Different?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 152-169, January.
    7. Sara Casagrande & Bruno Dallago, 2022. "Socio-Economic and Political Challenges of EU Member Countries: Grasping the Policy Direction of the European Semester," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 64(3), pages 487-519, September.
    8. Valentin Marian Antohi & Romeo Victor Ionescu & Marius Sorin Dinca & Monica Laura Zlati & Costinela Fortea, 2023. "Dynamics of the Social Security Index in the Context of the Economic Crisis in Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-17, February.
    9. Toni Haastrup & Heather Macrae & Annick Masselot & Alasdair Young & Milford Soko & Richard G. Whitman, 2022. "Editing ‘Europe’: Reflections from Inside, Outside and Beyond," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 853-866, July.
    10. Gräbner-Radkowitsch, Claudius & Hager, Theresa, 2021. "(Mis)measuring competitiveness: the quantification of a malleable concept in the European Semester," ZOE Discussion Papers 8, ZOE. institute for future-fit economies, Bonn.
    11. Agnieszka Piasna & Brendan Burchell & Kirsten Sehnbruch, 2019. "Job quality in European employment policy: one step forward, two steps back?," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 25(2), pages 165-180, May.
    12. Javier Bilbao-Ubillos, 2023. "The Social Dimension of the European Union: A Means to lock out Social Competition?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 165(1), pages 267-281, January.
    13. Paul Copeland, 2019. "Why Brexit Will Do Little to Change the Political Contours of the European Social Dimension," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(3), pages 30-39.
    14. Paul Copeland, 2022. "The Juncker Commission as a Politicising Bricoleur and the Renewed Momentum in Social Europe," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(6), pages 1629-1644, November.
    15. Jamie Jordan & Vincenzo Maccarrone & Roland Erne, 2021. "Towards a Socialization of the EU's New Economic Governance Regime? EU Labour Policy Interventions in Germany, Ireland, Italy and Romania (2009–2019)," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(1), pages 191-213, March.
    16. Mark Dawson & Adina Maricut‐Akbik, 2023. "Accountability in the EU's para‐regulatory state: The case of the Economic and Monetary Union," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(1), pages 142-157, January.
    17. Piasna, Agnieszka & Burchell, Brendan & Sehnbruch, Kirsten, 2019. "Job quality in European employment policy: one step forward, two steps back?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102888, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Adina Akbik & Marta Migliorati, 2023. "Between Ideology and Nationality: Drivers of Legislative Oversight in the European Parliament's Economic Dialogues," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 1026-1046, July.
    19. Mikkel Mailand, 2021. "Commission entrepreneurship and EU employment policy – The fate of a former darling," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(3), pages 249-267, September.
    20. Amandine Crespy, 2020. "The EU's Socioeconomic Governance 10 Years after the Crisis: Muddling through and the Revolt against Austerity," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/313037, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    21. Bernhard Zeilinger, 2021. "Die Wirkmächtigkeit des Europäischen Semesters und ihre Auswirkung auf die Interessensvertretung durch Arbeitnehmer:innenverbände," Working Paper Reihe der AK Wien - Materialien zu Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 231, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik.
    22. Amandine Crespy, 2020. "The EU's Socioeconomic Governance 10 Years after the Crisis: Muddling through and the Revolt against Austerity," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(S1), pages 133-146, September.
    23. Anna Elomäki & Johanna Kantola, 2020. "European Social Partners as Gender Equality Actors in EU Social and Economic Governance," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(4), pages 999-1015, July.
    24. Ferraro, Aniello & Cerciello, Massimiliano & Agovino, Massimiliano & Garofalo, Antonio, 2021. "Do public policies reduce social exclusion? The role of national and supranational economic tools," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 165-181.

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