The end of social Europe? Understanding EU social policy change

The financial and economic crisis has increased attention on EU social policy, yet little policy change has been realized. Drawing on Easton’s political system approach, we differentiate demand emanating from the difficult situation following the crisis and support in form of the 2004, 2009 and 2014 European elections. On the output side, we show how social policy has been substantially removed from the priorities of the EU political agenda already prior to the crisis. We argue that it is the contrast between crisis-generated demand and a more long-term lack of policy support that empowered actors interested in deepening economic integration and austerity policies. We present new empirical data that shows how partisan and governmental preferences are channelled through the EU institutions and how thus, changing ideological composition of the Commission as agenda-setter and an asymmetrical intergovenmentalist turn, have been a key driver for the substantial decline of EU social policy provision

Problems of operationalization and data in EU compliance research

Substantial theoretical, conceptual and empirical advances have been made in research on the implementation of EU policies during recent years. However, our findings have remained ambivalent and our theoretical insights disparate. It therefore seems high time to address some issues that cause concern in this type of research and to raise awareness of the limits of the various theoretical approaches and of the data commonly used. This relates to the challenges of operationalising and of choosing adequate indicators for the dependent variable (compliance). We also discuss promises and pitfalls of different types of data used in the field, such as official statistics on notifications and infringements published by the European Commission as well as mass surveys. -- Die EU-Implementationsforschung hat in den letzten Jahren wesentliche theoretische, konzeptuelle und empirische Fortschritte gemacht. Die Ergebnisse sind jedoch ambivalent und unsere theoretischen Erkenntnisse noch immer disparat. Es scheint deshalb an der Zeit einige Problemfelder dieses Forschungszweigs zu benennen und die Sensibilität für die Reichweite verschiedener methodischer Ansätze und Arten von Daten zu vergrößern. Dies gilt für die Operationalisierung der Kernkonzepte und für die Wahl angemessener Indikatoren, um die abhängige Variable (Rechtsbefolgung) zu erklären. Darüber hinaus diskutieren wir die Vor- und Nachteile der verschiedenen Arten von Daten, die von den meisten Studien genutzt werden. Es handelt sich um offizielle Statistiken über Notifizierungen und Vertragsverletzungsverfahren, die die EU Kommission veröffentlicht, und um Umfragedaten.

Worlds of compliance: Why leading approaches to the implementation of EU legislation are only 'sometimes-true theories'

This paper summarises the main theoretical findings of a large-scale qualitative project on the transposition, enforcement and application of six EU labour law Directives in fifteen member states. Focusing on the transposition stage, our argument starts from a theoretical puzzle: When confronting the empirical results from our 91 cases with the various hypotheses that we derived from the literature, it turns out that all causal conditions suggested by existing theories, and even two of the most prominent hypotheses (on misfit and veto players), have at best rather weak explanatory power. On closer inspection, our qualitative studies show that even their basic rationale does not hold in some groups of countries. As a solution, we offer a typology of three worlds of compliance within the fifteen EU member states covered by our study, each of which is characterised by an ideal-typical transposition style: a 'world of law observance', a 'world of domestic politics', and a 'world of neglect'. This typology provides the key to understanding when and how individual theoretical propositions are relevant.policy coordination; implementation; Europeanization

Military Service--a Comparative Study Between the New Testament Teaching and the Attitude of German Adventists

Problem When World War I broke out German Adventists were obliged to make a basic decision regarding their military service. Their readiness to do active service in the German forces resulted in considerable damage to their relations with the General Conference and Adventists in other countries. Method In comparing documents and reconstructing historical events this thesis tries to discover the former position of German Adventists on military service and how it changed. Historical documents are examined to determine whether or not they support the supposedly traditional Seventh-day Adventist stance on non-combatancy. Results The pragmatic decision of the Germans must be seen as a result of their fear of state sanctions. Their attempts to establish a sound theological basis to underpin their decision remain unconvincing and can be no more generalized dogmatically than the non-combatant position born in a democratic environment. Conclusions The position regarding military service can be determined only by the individual\u27s sense of responsibility arising from the peace commandment of the Lord

Power shifts via the judicial arena: how annulments cases between EU institutions shape competence allocation

Besides infringement and preliminary ruling procedures, actions for annulment form a third important category of procedures brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). A subset of these actions is ‘horizontal litigation’, where EU institutions litigate against other EU institutions. Based on a new dataset covering all horizontal annulment conflicts (1957–2017), this contribution analyzes conflict patterns. I identify the most typical litigant constellations and link them to substantial battles over competences including winners and losers. Using the example of EU external affairs, I show how annulment actions have shaped the relationship between EU institutions over time, with impact as significant as treaty changes. In sum, the analysis of this so far ‘forgotten’ type of procedure furthers our systematic understanding of policy development and competence allocation in the EU system

Revisiting patterns in EU regulatory social policy: (still) supporting the market or social goals in their own right?

Despite the fact that economic concerns are the main driver of the EU integration process, integration does carry a substantial social dimension. Yet, it remains an open question whether this social dimension ‘only’ supports the market or whether goals such as social justice, solidarity and employment conditions are independent of or even work against goals of market efficiency. To address this question the paper presents an original dataset on all 346 binding EU social policy acts adopted since the Union’s founding. In a descriptive approach, I contrast instruments and dynamics in areas and subfields connected more closely to the common market with those more directly constituting a social dimension in its own right. On this basis, I argue that the shape of EU social policy has substantially changed, strengthening its market-supporting dimension while weakening policy focused on its social dimension. The paper opens up for discussion possible political dynamics driving these patterns

Why some EU institutions litigate more often than others: exploring opportunity structures and actor motivation in horizontal annulment actions

EU scholars have studied mobilization as a cross-level phenomenon. Individuals and organized interests seek preliminary rulings with the Court of Justice of the EU to challenge national rules. Likewise, the Commission takes member states to court where they infringe commonly agreed rules. However, litigation can also run horizontally in the EU system. EU institutions can go to court to annul actions of other EU institutions. Studying this so far neglected phenomenon of litigation, the paper analyses differences in mobilization across European Parliament, Council and Commission. To this aim it conceptualizes litigation decisions as resulting from an interplay of agency and structure. Decision-making within organizations and in the EU political system as well as different motivations of actors are presented to explain differences in horizontal litigation. Methodologically the analysis combines a database covering 160 horizontal annulment conflicts (1957 to 2017) and case studies based on expert interviews

Annulment proceedings and multilevel judicial conflict

This open access book provides an exhaustive picture of the role that annulment conflicts play in the EU multilevel system. Based on a rich dataset of annulment actions since the 1960s and a number of in-depth case studies, it explores the political dimension of annulment litigation, which has become an increasingly relevant judicial tool in the struggle over policy content and decision-making competences. The book covers the motivations of actors to turn policy conflicts into annulment actions, the emergence of multilevel actors’ litigant configurations, the impact of actors’ constellations on success in court, as well as the impact of annulment actions on the multilevel policy conflicts they originate from

Transforming social policy in Europe? The EC's parental leave directive and misfit in the 15 member states

This paper presents first results from a collaborative research project which analyzes the national transposition, enforcement and application of six European labor law Directives in all 15 member states. Looking at the case of the EC's parental leave Directive (1996), it draws conclusions about the domestic impact of European social policy standards. It will interest practitioners as much as labor law experts that, in fact, adaptational pressure was created in all 15 member states. Although the overall economic impact of the Directive in terms of costs was rather modest, every single country had to change its rules. While misfit was rather small in Finland, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, the other member states were confronted with significant adaptation pressure. Political theorists may be surprised that our results cast doubts on the theoretical usefulness of focusing too much on matches or mismatches between European policies and domestic structures. We show that a very low degree of misfit may sometimes even be a problem rather than a condition for success and that the existence of considerable adaptational pressure may under certain conditions even be conducive to smooth implementation. In addition, several member states not only eliminated the misfit created by the Directive, but raised their domestic standards above the European minimum requirements. -- Dieses Papier stellt erste Ergebnisse eines Projektverbundes vor, der die rechtliche Umsetzung, administrative Durchführung und praktische Anwendung von sechs arbeitsrechtlichen EG-Richtlinien in allen 15 Mitgliedstaaten untersucht. Anhand der Richtlinie zum Elternurlaub (1996) werden hier die Auswirkungen europäischer Sozialstandards auf der nationalen Ebene behandelt. Für Praktiker und Arbeitsrechtsexperten gleichermaßen interessant dürfte unser Befund sein, dass die Richtlinie tatsächlich in allen Mitgliedstaaten Anpassungen nötig machte. Obwohl die von der Richtlinie verursachten Kosten insgesamt eher gering waren, musste doch jedes Land seine Regulierungen ändern. Während die erforderlichen Reformen in Deutschland, Finnland, Frankreich, Portugal, Spanien und Schweden von eher begrenzter Tragweite waren, sahen sich die übrigen Mitgliedstaaten mit beträchtlichem Anpassungsbedarf konfrontiert. Theoretisch Interessierte werden feststellen, dass unsere Ergebnisse Zweifel daran erwecken, ob die im Rahmen der Prognose des Anpassungserfolges bislang gängige Orientierung an der Größe des verursachten Anpassungsbedarfes wirklich sinnvoll ist. Wir zeigen, dass sehr kleiner misfit manchmal die erfolgreiche Anpassung sogar behindern kann, und dass hoher Anpassungsbedarf unter bestimmten Bedingungen größeren Erfolg verspricht. Darüber hinaus haben mehrere Mitgliedstaaten im Zuge der Implementation nicht nur die notwendigen Anpassungen vorgenommen, sondern ihre nationalen Standards über das von der Richtlinie geforderte Maß hinaus verändert.

Employment risks and opportunities for an ageing workforce in the EU

"The article provides a detailed analysis of the employment situation of older workers (55-64 years) in the EU member states. Using European Labour Force Survey data we systematically discuss the variation in the employment of older workers along the dimensions of gender, sectoral distribution, type of employment, training and flexible work arrangements. We show that and where Germany has to do some catching up if it wants to create a favourable employment context for this age group. Highlighting country differences we draw the conclusions that this labour market challenge can be characterised to a large extent as a gender problem, that labour market policy for an ageing workforce must start much earlier than just with older people and that their employment situation can to a great extent be sought in the general economic parameters and especially in the degree of employment growth in the service sector." (author's abstract)"Der Beitrag analysiert die Beschäftigungssituation älterer Menschen (55-64 Jahre) in den EU-Mitgliedsländern. Auf der Basis von European Labour Force Survey Daten diskutieren die Autoren systematisch die Ländervarianz in den Kategorien Geschlecht, Sektoren, Art der Beschäftigung, Aus- und Weiterbildung sowie flexible Arbeitsorganisation. Sie zeigen, dass und wo Deutschland Nachholbedarf hat, einen positiven Beschäftigungskontext für diese Altersgruppe herzustellen. Mit Blick auf die Unterschiede zwischen den Ländern stellen die Autoren fest, dass diese Arbeitsmarktherausforderung in starkem Maße als Gleichstellungsproblem charakterisiert werden kann, dass Arbeitsmarktpolitik für eine alternde Bevölkerung nicht erst mit den Alten beginnen darf und dass die Beschäftigungssituation Ältere wesentlich durch wirtschaftliche Parameter bestimmt wird, besonders durch das Beschäftigungswachstum im Dienstleistungssektor." (Autorenreferat