European social model in making : European Commission reporting on Romania between 1999-2006

2007

The European Union is often described as being an economic giant but a political dwarf. True enough, the European project started with economics, but has gone a long way since the time that it was only about economy. In Europe, there are obviously many different types of social models and welfare regimes. In addition to national models and regimes, there is an ongoing process at the European level that can be characterised as a search for “European social model”. This process involves both the institutions of the European Union as well as the member states. Political (and economic) battle that is being waged concentrates on what “European social model” should look like and who gets to defin…