The European social dialogue in the 1990s: institutional innovations and new paradigms

This article describes the major changes undergone by social dialogue in the 1990s. Two distinct periods are covered. The first, following in the wake of the Maastricht Social Agreement annexed to the Maastricht Treaty (1992), did not produce the expected new impetus and results. The novel institutional device of ‘collective bargaining in the shadow of the law’, though an advantage in some respects, was also a source of weakness for the social dialogue. The most striking feature of the second period, covering the later part of the 1990s, is the impressive diversification of institutional forms of social dialogue, a development that ought to multiply its chances of success, even if the new forms tend to be rather less ambitious. Four main new developments are described: • Diversification of the forums for discussion; • Increase in the number and type of topics covered; • Use of OMC tools in the context of the social dialogue; • Search for new ways of establishing connections between different forms and levels of social dialogue. Whether this proliferation of ‘entry points’, arenas and discussion topics will serve to strengthen the actors and improve the results of the European social dialogue remains an open question.