"The central question addressed by the papers collected in this book is whether trade unions from the post-socialist states have successfully represented their interests at the EU level. At issue is not only their purely formal integration into umbrella organizations and EU bodies; of much greater concern is their actual participation in political decision-making processes and the resulting impact at the national and sub-national level. The book therefore examines the integration and Europeanisation of a vital part of those societies which joined the EU in 2004. The empirical focus is on case studies from the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. The book is based on the research project ?Already arrived in Brussels? Interest representation of trade unions from the new EU member states at the EU level?, which was ? with financial support from the Otto Brenner Foundation ? carried out under the guidance of the Research Centre for East European Studies at the University of Bremen."

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