Documents Natali, David 74 results

"The sixteenth edition of Social policy in the European Union: state of play has a triple ambition. First, it provides easily accessible information to a wide audience about recent developments in both EU and domestic social policymaking. Second, the volume provides a more analytical reading, embedding the key developments of the year 2014 in the most recent academic discourses. Third, the forward-looking perspective of the book aims to provide stakeholders and policymakers with specific tools that allow them to discern new opportunities to influence policymaking.

In this 2015 edition of Social policy in the European Union: state of play, the authors tackle the topics of the state of EU politics after the parliamentary elections, the socialisation of the European Semester, methods of political protest, the Juncker investment plan, the EU's contradictory education investment, the EU's contested influence on national healthcare reforms, and the neoliberal Trojan Horse of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)."

"2011 was a year marked by some key progress in European integration: new moves towards Treaty revision, new rules for economic and budgetary coordination, and a more evident role of the EU in national policymaking. In parallel, the destabilisation of the euro zone progressed: the long-term effects of the Greek crisis have not been tackled by European policymakers, while tension shifted from the EU periphery to the very core of the euro zone. Most Member States pursued punitive austerity measures. All these trends undoubtedly represent worrying signs for the future of the European Social Model. The European Union is therefore dealing with crucial questions about its future sustainability: the fate of the euro is in jeopardy, as is the very meaning of the European integration project. A new compromise is needed between economic competitiveness and social solidarity. Otherwise, the risk will be an increase in public disaffection towards Europe and reciprocal accusations of egoism and lack of strategic views among the Member States. This 2011 edition of Social developments in the European Union examines the ways in which the EU has changed in this turbulent phase. Institutional innovations were paralleled by new economic governance tools and further reinforcement of the austerity paradigm. Beyond economic governance, this volume sheds light on the state of European social dialogue, the role of structural funds, the fate of the social dimension of Europe 2020, and the activities of the European Court of Justice. Analysis of the EU level is complemented by a critical review of national reforms, especially in the case of health care. "

"Cet article donne un bref aperçu de la littérature sur la stratégie de Lisbonne. Il a pour objectif de mettre en évidence le changement d'attitude des experts et du monde académique à l'égard de la stratégie (à la fois à son lancement en 2000 et durant son évolution, en passant par sa révision à mi-parcours en 2004-2005). L'article met l'accent sur trois questions principales : les fondements politiques et économiques de la stratégie,l'utilisation de la participation pour accroître la légitimité démocratique del'UE et le potentiel cognitif de la stratégie au moyen de dynamiques d'apprentissage. Trois tensions importantes semblent mériter une plus grande attention politique et analytique. La première tension a trait à la réformedu modèle social européen ; la seconde se rapporte au compromis ambigu entre la supposée dépolitisation des réformes socio-économiques grâce à la stratégie de Lisbonne et l'objectif d'améliorer la participation des parties prenantes. Quant à la troisième tension, elle concerne le respect des compétences nationales, d'une part, et l'amélioration de l'efficacité de la stratégie, afi n de créer des répertoires cognitifs et normatifs, d'autre part. Pour toutes ces tensions, le projet de Lisbonne a apporté une première réponsemais celle-ci n'est pas définitive."

"Le présent article entend jeter un éclairage sur la mise en oeuvre concrètede la stratégie de Lisbonne quant à son cadre de gouvernance et à la participation (des partenaires sociaux) en particulier. L'accent est mis sur la stratégie européenne pour l'emploi (SEE) (telle que défi nie dans le traité d'Amsterdam de 1997 et intégrée ensuite dans la stratégie de Lisbonne plus large, adoptée en 2000) ainsi que sur la méthode ouverte de coordination pour les pensions (le processus de coordination douce des réformes des régimes de pension, convenu au Conseil de Stockholm en 2001). Alors que le discours de l'UE met fortement l'accent sur le partenariat social, les deux cas évoqués dans cet article montrent les limites de la participation. La participation des partenaires sociaux variant considérablement d'un processusde coordination à l'autre, il est clair que les attentes relatives à une participation accrue n'ont pas été rencontrées dans la stratégie de Lisbonne."

"This book develops a new approach for estimating the way in which labour costs reflect cost competitiveness. Conventionally, unit labour costs (a standard measure of cost competitiveness) are calculated as indices, without regard to the relative levels of wage costs. To remedy this, the authors develop the concept of the ‘equilibrium wage', which corresponds to the level of wages when the returns on capital in different regions and sectors are equalised. A wage competitiveness indicator is thus calculated as the ratio of actual to equilibrium wages.



The book presents empirical evidence of equilibrium and actual wage developments for country aggregates and for economic sectors. Within the euro area, five countries are above equilibrium levels, three (including Germany) are close to equilibrium, and eleven member states (mainly in central and eastern Europe) have massively undervalued wages. The data for sectoral competitiveness seem to reflect in part sectoral specialisation, but the picture varies between sectors, countries and time periods."

"Structural reforms are increasingly at the core of the European and national agenda. But what are they? And what are the main factors shaping their content? This analysis of the structural reforms adopted between 2008 and 2015 in five European Union (EU) countries – the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland and Italy – addresses these two questions.



Adopting a clear definition of structural reforms, the book proposes a new typology of structural reform strategies by examining developments in five policy areas and classifying them according to whether the focus is on social protection and/or investment. An analysis of these five countries shows how a combination of EU constraints and opportunities, domestic path dependency and political dynamics has resulted in different structural reform trends; while some countries have experienced an overall devaluation in social standards (e.g. Ireland), others have pursued more mixed strategies. What is more, there have been different phases of structural reform patterns. After a first period of anticyclical measures, austerity dominated between 2011 and 2013. In more recent years, many countries have followed a more pro-growth strategy.



The book provides evidence that the EU influenced structural reforms but lacked a coherent agenda to support growth. In such a context, different countries implemented different reform strategies that reflected their (partly) diverging socio-economic models."