Social policy in the European Union : between harmonization and national autonomy /

Focusing on the European Works Council Directive (EWCD) established in 1994, the authors evaluate assumptions concerning social policy in the European Union, the different customs and practices of the member states, the national agencies through which the EWCD must operate, and the complexities of establishing worker councils and imposing policies within multinational corporations. As a "vehicle," the EWCD imposes employee consultations on the various legal and industrial systems of the member states. The authors caution against any form of historical determinism in which Europeans perceive themselves as a "community," since there are cultural and national legal differences that need to be negotiated. The authors illustrate how the EWCD accommodates the different practices (voluntary or legislative) in working with employer associations and trade unions. Despite problems of creating a single social policy, they see the "Europeanization of the EU economy as a reality" and the creation of a "pan European culture of social participation." An informed and important study with extensive bibliography, but lacking in charts. Recommended for university libraries. M. S. Miller emeritus, University of Illinois at Chicago