The displacement of Social Europe: a productive lens of inquiry

Abstract

In the 20 th century, the social component of the EU had a clear, albeit highly distinctive, profile when contrasted with definitions of social policy at national level. It focused mainly on improving and protecting the rights of workers, both in the market integration project per se as freely-moving workers and job-seekers and in protecting workers' rights, including centrally the rights of women not to be discriminated against at work. High member state consensus (with just one outlier member state after 1979), empowered and adept supranational policy entrepreneurs in the European Commission, 1 and judicial dialogue via the preliminary reference procedure, 2 led to a worker-focused social acquis, a focus on the social partners and a Charter in 1989 exclusively focused on the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers. We might call this Social Europe for Workers. Such a focus was an essential part of underpinning the legitimacy of the EU project and EU institutional actors. Introducing a special issue of the Common Market Law Review in 1977 on Social Europe, Michael Shanks, Commission Director-General for Social Affairs between 1973 and 1976, made clear that the felt need to give the integration project 'a human face' translated into Social Europe for Workers law and policy outcomes. 3 Indeed the remaining articles of that special issue focused on free movement and social security coordination for Community workers, the European Social Fund, employee

Introduction: The EU new economic governance, labour law and labour lawyers

“…Is the impact of EU policies on national labour law systems conveyed increasingly by the instruments of the NEG instead of the classic legal instruments (mainly, Directives)? This is the 'displacement' effect described by Kilpatrick,94 in its meaning of 'moved elsewhere'. Of course, the answer to this question must take into account the relative effectiveness of CSRs we just highlighted.…”

The dark side of the tour. Labour and social security challenges of highly mobile workers in the live performance sector

“…Nevertheless, such data may be available at national level. For instance, figures for Belgium 15 show that this group is indeed highly mobile, and that it accounts for a significant proportion of posted workers to another Member State. After all, 13% of the total number of employees providing 'creative, arts and entertainment activities' in Belgium were posted to another Member State in 2018.…”

“…7 van Ostaijen and Scholten [22]. 8 Kilpatrick [15]. 9 A New Settlement for the UK within the EU, OJ 2016/C 69 I/01.…”

An unprecedented social solidarity stress test

“…The danger of regression in employment protections increased, as these liberalising protections were viewed as tools in decreasing unemployment figures. 139 Questions regarding the 'displacement of Social Europe' arose, 140 especially when Social Europe had driven much of EU labour law.…”