Political Issues and Social Policy in the E.U.
Professor John Wilton
Lecture 2
The E.U. integration project and the politics of social policy

Political Issues and Social Policy in the E.U.
Lecture 2
1. Two key political questions raised by the E.U. integration project and the expansion of social
policy in the late 1980s and the 1990s
2. Theoretical perspectives of the E.U. integration project and the politics of social policy

Political Issues and Social Policy in the E.U.
Lecture 2

Two key political questions raised by the E.U. integration project and the expansion of social
policy in the late 1980s and the 1990s
A) Why did the expansion of E.U. social policy occur, and can it be sustained?
B) Is the growth of E.U. social policy a positive development?

Political Issues and Social Policy in the E.U.
Lecture 2
A) Why did the expansion of E.U. social policy occur, and can it be sustained?
(i) REALIST – E.U. integration, and    consequently development of E.U.    social policy, moves in
a ‘cycle of near success’- due to individual states ‘self-interest’

Political Issues and Social Policy in the E.U.
Lecture 2
- Attempts to create meaningful wide-ranging E.U. social policy always damaged through:
a) the resistance of some individual Member states;
b) resistance of key interest groups (i.e. multinational corporations);
c) institutional weakness of E.U. itself.

Political Issues and Social Policy in the E.U.
Lecture 2
(ii) FUNCTIONALIST – E.U. social policy has managed to develop and grow precisely because of, and
through:
a) the development of the E.U. itself;
b) the activities of the E.U. Commission;
c) the activities of European wide interest groups, pressure groups, and lobby groups
d) ‘Spillover’

Political Issues and Social Policy in the E.U.
Lecture 2
B) Is the growth of E.U. social policy a positive development?
(i)from the ‘right’ of the political spectrum – ‘free market liberals’
- development of E.U. social policy         counterproductive (dangerous!)
- constitutes a constraint on the functioning of the      free-market
- plus = one element in growth of E.U. ‘superstate’      and large bureaucracy

Political Issues and Social Policy in the E.U.
Lecture 2
(ii) from the ‘left’ of the political spectrum – social democrats
 - development of E.U. social policy is a positive and necessary development
- needed to protect E.U. citizens from worst excesses of free-market
 - plus, has economic gains for the market as assists in production of highly skilled,
well-trained, well educated workforce

Political Issues and Social Policy in the E.U.
Lecture 2
•THEORIES OF EUROPEAN UNION INTEGRATION
1.FEDERALISM
•2. FUNCTIONALISM
•3. NEO-FUNCTIONALISM

Political Issues and Social Policy in the E.U.
Lecture 2
THEORIES OF EUROPEAN UNION INTEGRATION
1.FEDERALISM
- 3 main assumptions
a) societies are complex and diverse
b) societies are pluralistic
c) as societies are diverse and pluralistic, institutions that protect diversity and autonomy, but
which produce unity, are required

Political Issues and Social Policy in the E.U.
Lecture 2
THEORIES OF EUROPEAN UNION INTEGRATION
2. FUNCTIONALISM
- the functions of different elements of    societies (including public policy)         would
encourage and produce co-    operation and integration

Political Issues and Social Policy in the E.U.
Lecture 2
THEORIES OF EUROPEAN UNION INTEGRATION
3. NEO-FUNCTIONALISM
- based on principle of ‘spillover’ (as   integration occurs in one area/sector      of E.U. the
benefits would ‘spillover’   into other sectors, and produce greater   integration in them)