Eu Enlargement, the Clash of Capitalisms and the European Social Dimension

At the heart of the European integration process is the political economy debate over whether the EU should be a market-making project, or if it should combine this with integration in employment and social policy. This book is the first to examine the impact of the 2004 and 2007 rounds of enlargement upon the political economy of European integration. EU enlargement, the clash of capitalisms and the European social dimension analyses the main policy negotiations in the field and evaluates the political positions and contributions of the Central and Eastern European Member States. Through close scrutiny of the negotiations of the Services Directive, the revision of the Working Time Directive, and the Europe 2020 poverty target, the book argues that the addition of the Central and Eastern European States has strengthened liberal forces at the EU level and undermined integration with EU employment and social policy. Once formal Members of the EU, the Central and Eastern European states have found themselves able to compete against EU-15 states with respect to labour costs, thereby reinforcing the liberal tendencies within such states during their transition from state-socialism to capitalism. This book shows that the result of this political preference at the European level has been to push the process of European integration much closer to being a free-trade association. Lecturers and students at all levels with an interest in EU politics will find this volume invaluable.