SPOL28140 EU Social Policy

Academic Year 2020/2021

This module explores the origins, development, and effects of EU social policy. Unlike other policy areas, the EU possesses limited authority and capacity concerning social policy. Indeed, the 1957 Treaty of Rome envisioned a very limited role for the EU in social policy. Despite this weak treaty basis, the EU now shares authority with the member states in many fields of social policy, including workplace health and safety, pensions, employment and health care. The module examines these developments by focusing on the impact of judicial policy-making, the constraints of the Internal Market, and the expansion of 'soft coordination' in several social policy areas. Among the issues and themes the module will address are: the legal bases of EU social policy; social policy in the context of EMU and the single market; and the impact of the Euro-crisis on the prospects for further social policy development at the EU level.