Europeanization through its instrumentation:Benchmarking, mainstreaming and open method of coordination… Toolbox or Pandora’s nox ?

Understanding Europeanization through its instrumentation raises the issue of the supposed neutrality of policy tools used as soft modes of action. The aim of this article is to assess how this ‘new governance’ tends to guide policy-making on a specific path. Indeed, European construction cannot be restricted to the direct impact of Community law or to the indirect effects of economic integration. A new form of non-constraining co-ordination has been developing since the mid-1990s. In order to explain how the cognitive mechanisms of Europeanization work, we open the ‘toolboxes’ that allow European institutions to have an effect on national representations and practices. The use of benchmarking for building the European Research Area, the elaboration of gender equality policy according to the principle of mainstreaming, and the open method of co-ordination (OMC) in the field of pension reforms, illustrate how such policy instruments lead national governments to meet the competitiveness requirements of the Lisbon strategy

Europeanization through its instrumentation:Benchmarking, mainstreaming and open method of coordination… Toolbox or Pandora’s nox ?

Understanding Europeanization through its instrumentation raises the issue of the supposed neutrality of policy tools used as soft modes of action. The aim of this article is to assess how this ‘new governance’ tends to guide policy-making on a specific path. Indeed, European construction cannot be restricted to the direct impact of Community law or to the indirect effects of economic integration. A new form of non-constraining co-ordination has been developing since the mid-1990s. In order to explain how the cognitive mechanisms of Europeanization work, we open the ‘toolboxes’ that allow European institutions to have an effect on national representations and practices. The use of benchmarking for building the European Research Area, the elaboration of gender equality policy according to the principle of mainstreaming, and the open method of co-ordination (OMC) in the field of pension reforms, illustrate how such policy instruments lead national governments to meet the competitiveness requirements of the Lisbon strategy

The emergence and changing nature of a polysemic category: European resources in the field of reconciliation between paid work and private life

European policies regarding the reconciliation of paid work and private life have undergone substantial changes since the 1950s. This paper analyses how European resources related to reconciliation policies have been incrementally developed through layering and conversion processes. Three phases can be distinguished. Beginning with early initiatives at the Community level, reconciliation policies transformed into an instrument of equality policy and finally an instrument of employment policy. Beyond tracing these historical developments, the paper addresses the various definitions of reconciliation and their different functions as cognitive and legitimising resources. It suggests a larger and encompassing definition of reconciliation in order to acknowledge the potentially diverse and numerous usages of Europe by domestic actors

Usages et européanisation:De l’influence multiforme de l’Union européenne sur les réformes des systèmes nationaux de protection sociale

La littérature récente sur les transformations des systèmes de protection sociale a montré que l’Union européenne est une variable importante à prendre en compte afin de comprendre les réformes nationales dans ce domaine. Notre objectif ici est d’analyser et de préciser les mécanismes politiques par lesquels l’UE joue un rôle dans les changements de politique sociale de ses États membres. Nous affirmons dans cet article qu’afin de comprendre comment l’UE influence les réformes nationales, il faut se pencher sur la façon dont les acteurs nationaux font usage des ressources et des contraintes européennes et sur la façon dont ils transforment ces dernières en opportunités politiques. De ces processus, il ressort que l’Europe contribue à changer les systèmes nationaux d’État-providence dans un sens qui rend ces systèmes plus « favorables à l’emploi ». Ce changement n’est cependant pas le résultat d’une imposition ou d’une contrainte directe sur les gouvernements nationaux, mais plutôt de la mise à disposition de différentes ressources que des acteurs nationaux peuvent (ou non) mobiliser afin de poursuivre leurs intérêts et objectifs. En utilisant ces ressources, y compris de façon négative, ces acteurs participent à l’incorporation au sein des débats et des processus politiques nationaux d’idées et d’orientations définies au niveau européen, contribuant ainsi à l’européanisation des réformes nationales de protection sociale.Recent literature on the transformation of national welfare systems shows that the European Union is an important variable to take into account in order to understand domestic reforms. Our aim is to analyze in detail the political mechanisms thanks to which the EU plays a part in social policy changes of its Member States. We argue that in order to understand how the EU influences social policy reforms at the domestic level, it is necessary to look at the use made of European resources and constraints by national actors and to focus on how they turn these into political opportunities. We show that Europe contributes to change in national welfare systems, making them more employment-friendly. However, this change does not result from direct pressure on national governments but rather from the availability of various resources national actors can use in order to pursue their interest and attain their aims. By using (or not using), they participate in the incorporation of ideas and norms defined at EU level in the national debate and policy process, thus contributing to the Europeanization of domestic welfare reforms

A Means to a Changing End. European Resources: The EU and the Reconciliation of Paid Work and Private Life

European resources related to reconciliation policies have been incrementally developed and transformed. Three main phases of this process can be distinguished in the progressive institutionalisation and evolution of this field of action at the EU level. At first, the reconciliation issue appeared on the European agenda as a spillover interpretation of ‘equal treatment’. It then acquired greater autonomy, becoming an equal opportunity policy, leading to the development of various (legal, financial, cognitive and political) instruments around the objectives of improving work/family balance and the division of labour between women and men. Finally, this field has been converted into an economic employment policy field aimed at modernising welfare systems and guaranteeing budgetary sustainability through increases in fertility rates and, most importantly, female employment rates. However, this has come at the expense of the initial gender equality goals. The conclusion underlines the diverse and evolving meanings of the ‘reconciliation’ issue and its orientation. This diversity in meanings and orientations allows greater room for manoeuvre at the domestic level and even more diverse patterns of national usages of Europe, as is shown in the rest of this special issue

The Europeanization of the “Reconciliation Between Paid Work and Private Life” Policies in France: Boasting… but Learning

France has a reputation for havinggenerousfamily policies and was considered to be a pioneer in 'reconciliation'policiesb efore they even came to be known by this term. Although they were created for other purposes (i.e. education and natalism), French policies indirectly favour women's participation in the labour market. One might thus expect that Europe would not have had a significant influence on French policies, even after the emergence of the reconciliation issue on the European agenda. However, despite conditions that would preclude any EU influence on French family policies (a small 'misfit' in the content of the policies, and a reluctance to refer to Europe), we show that family policies have been constantly reformed in France in recent decades in a direction that brings them closer to the EU model. Our approach, which looks at the usage of European resources within the national reform processes, shows how some important actors have seized the opportunities and concepts provided by the EU on reconciliation policies in order to remain central actors at the French level. The introduction of references to Europe has contributed to a reframingof the French debate and policies. Even though natalism is still central to many actors' concerns, the employment rate of women, and to a lesser extent gender equality, have become new driving forces within French family policy

Domestic Reconciliation Policies and the Usages of Europe

In recent years, European institutions have promoted the development of reconciliation policies in an overall context where most European countries are saying 'farewell to maternalism' (Orloff 2006) and are now implementing policies aimed at helping individuals (especially women) to combine paid work and family responsibilities. Is it possible to consider that these changes in national reconciliation policies have been due to EU actions in this policy field and, if so, what are the mechanisms of possible EU influence? In section one, we review the Europeanisation literature in order to situate our own perspective. In the second section, we present our approach in terms of 'national usages of Europe" In section three, we come back to the policy content to be analysed, presenting the EU definitions of reconciliation policies, and reviewing the tools we have used to situate each national case of care regimes and reconciliation policies. In the fourth section, we introduce our common hypotheses and the analytical framework that is used in all the articles of this special issue. Finally, in section five, we summarise our main findings

Letting Europe In. The Domestic Usages of Europe in Reconciliation Policies

In recent years, European institutions have promoted the development of reconciliation policies in an overall context where most European countries are saying 'farewell to maternalism' (Orloff 2006) and are now implementing policies aimed at helping individuals (especially women) to combine paid work and family responsibilities. Is it possible to consider that these changes in national reconciliation policies have been due to EU actions in this policy field and, if so, what are the mechanisms of possible EU influence? In section one, we review the Europeanisation literature in order to situate our own perspective. In the second section, we present our approach in terms of 'national usages of Europe" In section three, we come back to the policy content to be analysed, presenting the EU definitions of reconciliation policies, and reviewing the tools we have used to situate each national case of care regimes and reconciliation policies. In the fourth section, we introduce our common hypotheses and the analytical framework that is used in all the articles of this special issue. Finally, in section five, we summarise our main findings

Investigation of dioctahedral smectite hydration properties by modeling of X-ray diffraction profiles: Influence of layer charge and charge location

International audienceHydration of the <1 μm size fraction of a high-charge montmorillonite (Clay Minerals Society Source Clay SAz-1), and of low- and high-charge beidellites (Source Clays SbId-1 and SbCa-1, respectively) was studied by modeling of X-ray diffraction patterns recorded under controlled relative humidity (RH) for Sr- and/or Ca-saturated specimens. The influence of layer charge and charge location on smectite hydration was studied. Distribution of layers with different hydration states (dehydrated – 0W, monohydrated – 1W, bi-hydrated – 2W, or tri-hydrated – 3W) within smectite crystals often leads to two distinct contributions to the X-ray diffraction pattern, each contribution having different layer types randomly interstratified. Structure models are more heterogeneous for beidellite than for montmorillonite. For beidellite, two distinct populations of particles with different coherent scattering domain sizes account for the heterogeneity. Increased hydration heterogeneity in beidellite originates also from the presence of 0W (non-expandable) and of 1W layers under high relative humidity (RH) conditions. Similarly, after ethylene-glycol (EG) solvation, some beidellite layers incorporate only one plane of EG molecules whereas homogeneous swelling was observed for montmorillonite with the systematic presence of two planes of EG molecules. For montmorillonite and beidellite, the increase of layer charge shifts the 2W-to-1W and the 1W-to-0W transitions towards lower RH values. For all samples, layer thickness of 0W, 1W, and 2W layer types was similar to that determined for low-charge SWy-1 montmorillonite (Source Clay SWy-1), and no change of layer thickness was observed as a function of the amount or of the location of layer charge. Layer thickness however increased with increasing RH conditions