Europeanization of a national domain? Social policy in the EU multi-level system in times of crisis

• Applicant: Privatdozentin Dr. Jana Windwehr
• Subject Area: Political Science
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 491530089

Academic and political debates tend to neglect the European dimension of social policy. Even though European social policy follows different logics than national ones, "islands" of European influence now exist in almost all fields of social policy. This together with a broad range of instruments at the EU's disposal renders the claim of social policy being a latecomer in the integration process an anachronism. Rather, a dynamic interaction within the EU multi-level system has developed in thisfield, reaching far beyond the range initially intended by member states.Established "soft" instruments such as the Open Method of Coordination are increasingly supplemented or in practice replaced by instruments of fiscal consolidation with significant consequences for the fiscal as well as social room for manoeuvre of member states. At the same time, the latter are not just passive recipients of European social policies but also dispose of (albeit varying) ambitions and channels to design them. Against this background, the study at hand examines processes of Europeanisation in four fields of social policy in a broad sense (labour market, health, pensions and family) and five member states (Germany, Sweden, the UK, Poland and Italy).How does the degree of European influences compare in these different fields? Which mechanisms of influence from the European level to member states (download, in the terminology of Europeanisation research) and vice versa (upload, as well as interload among member states without EU involvement) can be empirically traced? And particularly: how have these processes changed during the "eurocrisis" and what does that imply for the future paths of EU social policy?Based on comprehensive document analyses as well as expert interviews, the study's conclusion is that the new instruments established in the crisis do have the potential to change the rules of the game especially within the Eurozone. However, so far this has only manifested itself in situations of extreme fiscal problems. While a generally higher degree of bindingness could not be observed so far, an interesting finding concerns the use of informal conditionality towards member states ineconomic difficulty. At the same time, Europeanisation pressure does not only depend on the overall fiscal situation but also on field-specific spending as well as performance in the respective field. Finally, path-dependencies lead to specific and frequently deficient forms of implementation.

• DFG Programme: Publication Grants