European Imperatives and the Welfare State

Abstract

<p>The study of social policy within the context of the European Union has mostly been analysed from a supranational view. This thesis will assess the impact of European integration on national welfare state and thus will analyse how the supranational institution affects the social policies of member states. This thesis will discuss the impact of European integration, and more specifically the European Monetary Union (EMU), on the welfare state of five countries (Italy, Germany, Sweden, UK and France). The sectors of old-age pensions and health care were chosen as representative of the welfare state. Since the five countries belong to three different welfare regimes, as classified by Esping-Andersen (1990), the responses to the new challenge of EMU will, in most cases, vary accordingly. Nevertheless, because the analysis of the welfare state remains a national issue, there are still some striking differences in the way countries respond to a new challenge such as EMU. It is argued that the EU has had some impacts on the welfare states of the five countries studied.</p>