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Project

Attitudes towards Social Europe: A new integration-demarcation conflict?

European integration challenges the foundations of the national welfare states. Although the European project started out as an economic endeavour, the EU has gradually assumed considerable authority in social policy. The EU has taken various regulative actions in the domains of equality and working conditions, and a considerable share of the EU-budget is devoted to regional redistribution (by means of the structural funds). Furthermore, supra-national constraints to the member states’ fiscal and budget policies limit the redistributive options available to the national welfare states. This Europeanization of social policy creates tensions between winners and losers of European social integration. Skilled groups benefit from the expansion of individual mobility options, while lower educated classes in locally embedded sectors that are opened up for international competition have far less exit options. In strong welfare states, citizens might fear that Europeanization will result in a deterioration of social protection, whereas individuals in less extensive welfare states might hope that EU-level social policy will enhance their social welfare. This project attempts to uncover this emerging conflict on the issue of Social Europe. Using Belgian and international survey data, we investigate citizens’ preferences regarding the role of the European Union in social policy and the characteristics (individual and contextual) that influence attitudes towards Social Europe.

Date:1 Jan 2016 →  31 Dec 2019
Keywords:Attitudes, Social Europe, integration, demarcation, conflict
Disciplines:Demography