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Social policy has become an increasingly prominent component of the European Union's policy-making responsibilities. Today, for example, a highly developed body of law regulates equal treatment in social security and co-ordinates national security schemes; national health services have opened up to patients and service providers from other states; and rules govern the translation of educational and vocational certificates across member states. This state of affairs is all the more remarkable given the relatively limited resources at the EU's disposal and the initial intentions of its founders. During negotiations for the Treaty of Rome in the 1950s, social policy was viewed as the exclusive provenance of the member states. There were to be provisions to facilitate labour mobility within the common market, but until the 1970s social policy making at the EU-level was modest. However, plans for the internal market moved social policy on the EU's decision-making agenda. The Social Chapter was adopted in 1989, and the Single European Act expanded EU competencies in social policy. The Treaties of Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice all expanded competencies further, so that by the time the heads of government met in Lisbon in 2007 to sign the EU's latest treaty, the extent of supranational control over important aspects of social policy making was quite impressive. This important book provides a full account of the evolution of social policy in the EU and of its current reach. It examines the reasons for the increased role of the EU in the area, in spite of formidable obstacles, and details its effects in member states, where social provision is often the biggest item in government budgets and a crucial issue in national elections. Drawing on research done on welfare states around the world and on European integration, this book provides a distinctive and sophisticated account of social policy in Europe, showing how it must now be understood in the context of multi-level governance in which EU institutions play a pivotal role.

Das schwedische Rentensystem wird oft als Vorbild für Rentenreformen herangezogen. Durch eine umfassende Reform wurde 1994/1998 das seit 1960 bestehende öffentliche System ersetzt. Das neue System beinhaltet unter anderem individuelle Investmentkonten und eine Garantierente. Das reformierte System verfügt zudem über automatische Stabilisatoren, die Zahlungsverpflichtungen und "Vermögenswerte" ausbalancieren sollen. Durch sektorweite betriebliche Altersvorsorge werden die Leistungen des öffentlichen Systems aufgestockt. Die Study analysiert die Ursprünge des bestehenden Systems und die politischen Hintergründe sowie die Folgen der Reform. Es werden die Schwächen des vorherigen Systems dargestellt und auch der breite politische Konsens, der in den 1990er Jahren entstand und seither die Richtung der Reformen bestimmt. Außerdem wird die Funktion der betrieblichen Altersvorsorge im Sicherungssystem behandelt, die Rolle der Gewerkschaften im Reformprozess und die Beziehungen zwischen Arbeitsmarktentwicklung und Rentensystem. ; Sweden is often hailed as a model for far-reaching pension reform. The comprehensive 1994/1998 reform replaced the existing statutory system that had been in place since 1960 with a new system based on notional defined contributions, individual investment accounts, and a guarantee pension. The reformed pension system also includes "automatic stabilizers" that ensure that pension liabilities and assets remain in balance. Sector-wide occupational pension schemes provide a topup to public pensions. This study analyses the origins, negotiation, and effects of the reformed pension system. It discusses the weaknesses of the preexisting system and the broad political compromise that emerged in the 1990s around reform and continues to shape the direction of policy change. The study also ex-amines the role of occupational pensions in the overall pension system, the role of unions in shaping the reform, and the links between labour market performance and the pension system.

Sweden is often hailed as a model for far-reaching pension reform. The comprehensive 1994/1998 reform replaced the existing statutory system that had been in place since 1960 with a new system based on notional defined contributions, individual investment accounts, and a guarantee pension. The reformed pension system also includes "automatic stabilizers" that ensure that pension liabilities and assets remain in balance. Sector-wide occupational pension schemes provide a topup to public pensions. This study analyses the origins, negotiation, and effects of the reformed pension system. It discusses the weaknesses of the preexisting system and the broad political compromise that emerged in the 1990s around reform and continues to shape the direction of policy change. The study also ex-amines the role of occupational pensions in the overall pension system, the role of unions in shaping the reform, and the links between labour market performance and the pension system. ; Das schwedische Rentensystem wird oft als Vorbild für Rentenreformen herangezogen. Durch eine umfassende Reform wurde 1994/1998 das seit 1960 bestehende öffentliche System ersetzt. Das neue System beinhaltet unter anderem individuelle Investmentkonten und eine Garantierente. Das reformierte System verfügt zudem über automatische Stabilisatoren, die Zahlungsverpflichtungen und "Vermögenswerte" ausbalancieren sollen. Durch sektorweite betriebliche Altersvorsorge werden die Leistungen des öffentlichen Systems aufgestockt. Die Study analysiert die Ursprünge des bestehenden Systems und die politischen Hintergründe sowie die Folgen der Reform. Es werden die Schwächen des vorherigen Systems dargestellt und auch der breite politische Konsens, der in den 1990er Jahren entstand und seither die Richtung der Reformen bestimmt. Außerdem wird die Funktion der betrieblichen Altersvorsorge im Sicherungssystem behandelt, die Rolle der Gewerkschaften im Reformprozess und die Beziehungen zwischen Arbeitsmarktentwicklung und Rentensystem.

This paper analyzes policy shifts in two core welfare state programs in Germany: old-age pensions and health care. Both programs are prototypes of Bismarckian/conservative program design (benefits are based on occupational and family status; financing is based on payroll contributions, and administration is based on corporatist arrangements) and both have experienced tremendous cost pressures because of demographic change and rising non-wage labor costs. A series of reforms since the late 1980s has reduced the generosity of benefits and aims to change the governance structures of both programs. Although the reforms include substantial benefit cuts, key conservative principles concerning benefit entitlement and financing remain largely untouched. In both programs, derived rights based on family status remain strong, and occupational fragmentation continues to characterize the overall structure of both systems. The paper argues that this pattern of institutional change is not new, but is typical of the politics of muddling through that has characterized the German system since its inception. I emphasize the impact of German political institutions, the structure of electoral competition, and the legacies of conservative social policy to explain the contemporary pattern of policy development.