David Natali Bücher

The sixteenth edition of Social policy in the European Union: state of play has a triple ambition. First, it provides easily accessible information to a wide audience about recent developments in both EU and domestic social policymaking. Second, the volume provides a more analytical reading, embedding the key developments of the year 2014 in the most recent academic discourses. Third, the forward-looking perspective of the book aims to provide stakeholders and policymakers with specific tools that allow them to discern new opportunities to influence policymaking. In contrast to recent years, 2014 started off with a distinct atmosphere of hope in the EU, with a renewed emphasis on the need for investments to grow. However, more recent developments have demonstrated that these 'results' are in fact only possibilities today and not yet realities. Increased social and economic divergence and rising tensions between the EU's North and South imply that a strengthening of the status quo, a retreat, or even a fatal blow are also distinct possibilities for the EU's future. The authors tackle EU politics after the parliamentary elections, the socialisation of methods of political protest, the Juncker investment plan, the EU's on investment, the EU's contested influence on national healthcare and the neoliberal Trojan Horse of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). For the first time in many years, 2014 opened a window of opportunity; what remains to be seen is whether or not the EU will capitalise on it.

The European Union has faced a significant period of rising anti-EU sentiments and challenges in implementing renewed socio-economic governance. Amidst this backdrop, European institutions have engaged in discussions aimed at overcoming recession and revitalizing integration. Despite many Member States adhering to strict austerity measures—while 27 million Europeans remain unemployed and a quarter of the population faces poverty—there is a consensus among stakeholders, particularly the trade union movement, on the necessity of an EU-driven growth strategy. This 2013 edition of Social developments in the European Union offers essential insights from analysts and scholars. Contributors critically assess recent EU economic governance and propose guidelines for a strengthened EU social protection and investment plan. Key proposals include a pan-European unemployment insurance scheme and an EU minimum income scheme, alongside an emphasis on the gender dimension in social policies. Additionally, the volume reviews national labor market policy reforms. Although the European economy remains bleak, the proposed institutional and policy reforms present an opportunity to forge a new path for Europe.