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One of the most important changes in the development of population in European Union (EU) is demographic ageing - due to remarkable reductions in fertility levels and increasing life expectancy, the proportion of persons aged 60 and over is increasing very rapidly. The actual size of the elderly population in several EU countries already exceeds the projected estimations for 2010. These demographic challenges confirmed the importance of social affairs for its policy agenda. In combination with technological, structural and political change, Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the prospects for further enlargement of the Union to the East, socio-demographic trends had intensified pressures on welfare systems, raising questions about the feasibility and desirability of achieving a common social policy and about the future shape of the "European social model". The emphasis placed on workers' rights in the Community's and Union's treaties and charter signalled that European social policy was only indirectly concerned with categories of the population who did not gain entitlements to social protection as active members of labour force. The Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, later the Single European Act and the Treaty on European Union made no reference to older people. A statement on European policy for this potentially disadvantaged category of former or would be workers was, however, introduced into the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers and a new article on non-discrimination in the Treaty of Amsterdam identified age among the areas where discrimination was to be eliminated. ; Spartus ES valstybių demografinis senėjimas XX–XXI amžių sandūroje bei šio proceso prognozės kelia didelį susirūpinimą socialinės politikos kūrėjams: kaip užtikrinti lygias galimybes visoms kartoms ir integruoti pagyvenusius žmones į visuomenę. Siekiant spręsti šias problemas, nauji uždaviniai kyla socialinių paslaugų, pensijų, darbo rinkos politikos ir kitoms sritims. Straipsnio tikslas – įvertinti visuomenės demografinio senėjimo padarinius ir aptarti socialinės politikos pagyvenusiems formavimąsi ES valstybėse. Šiuo tikslu aptariami gyventojų amžiaus struktūros pokyčiai ir demografinio senėjimo veiksniai ES valstybėse, analizuojama socialinės politikos pagyvenusiesiems raida nuo Europos Bendrijos sukūrimo iki paskutiniosios Europos Sąjungos plėtros į Vidurio ir Rytų Europą bei išryškinamas jos vaidmuo integraciniuose procesuose.

The emphasis in the Community's and Union's treaties and charter on workers' rights and on the need to create conditions that would facilitate freedom of movement of labour between member states explains why issues concerned with the employment and equalization of working conditions have always been high on the policy agenda. With the launch of the European Monetary Union (EMU) and Euro, the debate on European solutions shifted focus towards structural policies, which are the necessary complement to the macroeconomic policy mix under EMU. Employment is the key ingredient of this debate. Indeed employment cuts across all the challenges of enlargement, the new financial framework and the EU structural funds, the promotion of economic and social cohesion, and institution reform. Throughout the 1970's and 1980's employment was present in the minds of the leaders of the then EEC when the four freedoms of movement of goods, services, capital and labour were promoted in Single Market. The subsequent evolution of employment strategy can be divided into two periods, the watershed of which is marked by new Treaty of Amsterdam, signed in October 1997. Before Amsterdam, employment and labour market policy was the sovereign domain of the Member States. The treaty does not change the basic principle that Member States take primary responsibility for employment policy. But it does entrust the European institutions, the Council and the Commission with a much stronger role, new tasks and more forceful tools. It involves the European Parliament more closely with the decision making process. Also, the responsibilities of the social partners and their opportunities to contribute are enhanced through the inclusion of the Social Protocol into the Treaty. Leaders of many Member States have been at the forefront in coordinating and implementing the European employment strategy. ; Europos Sąjunga (ES) vykdydama užimtumo ir socialinę politiką, siekia užtikrinti aukštą gyvenimo kokybę, žmogaus orumą atitinkantį gyvenimo lygį, sudaryti galimybes gyventi aktyvioje, integruotoje ir sveikoje visuomenėje. Ši politika padeda gerinti didžiosios dalies ES piliečių, tarp jų ir bedarbių, pagyvenusių žmonių, neįgaliųjų, socialiai atskirtųjų, darbo rinkoje skriminuojamų žmonių gyvenimą. Tai atitinka vieną svarbiausių ES socialinės politikos principų – piliečių solidarumo principą, būtiną kuriant stabilią visuomenę bei skatinant nuolatinį klestėjimą, kuris yra Europoje veikiančio socialinio modelio atskaitos taškas. ES gyventojai nepaliekami rinkos jėgų valiai – jie turi galimybę naudotis viena stipriausių pasaulio socialinės paramos sistemų. Straipsnio tikslas – atskleisti ES vykdomą užimtumo, kaip socialinės gerovės garanto, politiką, išanalizuoti ją lemiančias ES sutartis, aptarti ES socialinės politikos transformacijas pereinant prie vidaus rinkos ir įsigaliojus ES pilietybei. Tyrimo metodai – dokumentų, mokslinės literatūros analizė.

The emphasis in the Communitys and Unions treaties and charter on workers rights and on the need to create conditions that would facilitate freedom of movement of labour between member states explains why issues concerned with the emploiment and equalization of working conditions have always been high on the policy agenda.

The emphasis in the Communitys and Unions treaties and charter on workers rights and on the need to create conditions that would facilitate freedom of movement of labour between member states explains why issues concerned with the emploiment and equalization of working conditions have always been high on the policy agenda.

Article objective contradictions that arise in the implementation of the state policy of employment at various levels of social management. On the basis of allocation of five levels of social control by the author offers methodological approaches to significantly increase the effectiveness of the implementation of the state policy in the field of employment.

The article emphasizes that accounts of European social policy generally present a minimalist interpretation of European Union involvement. The sovereign nation-state allows no relevant role for the EU in social policy. The Union's sphere is market building, leaving social policy to citizenfocused, national welfare state, its sovereignty formally untouched though perhaps endangered indirectly by growing economic interdependency. Three welfare state models (liberal, social-democratic, conservative) are discussed in the article. The author highlights that the welfare states are national states. The article defines and discusses European social model as a set of European Community and member-state legal regulations, but also as a range of practices aimed at promoting a comprehensive social policy in the European Union. The European social model has developed alongside the different steps taken towards European integration, that confirms how this model is related to EU economic and political integration. The common values, that includes European social model, such as democracy, individual rights, free collective bargaining, equality of opportunity for all, and social welfare and solidarity are discussed in the article. The article gives the set of different elements of the European social model major of them labour law on worker's rights, employment, equal opportunities, antidiscrimination, etc., that can be characterized as "European society". The progress of European social model depends on the growth of European economies, the development of knowledge societies, and the modernization of work organization that requires constant adaptation. ; Straipsnio tikslas – nustatyti pagrindinius Europos socialinio modelio bruožus ir elementus, aptarti svarbiausias vertybines nuostatas, atskleisti šio modelio problemiškumą ir santykinumą Europos Sąjungoje. Tuo tikslu analizuojama socialinės politikos raida nuo Europos Bendrijos sukūrimo iki paskutiniosios Europos Sąjungos plėtros Vidurio ir Rytų Europos link, atskleidžiamas jos vaidmuo integraciniuose procesuose ir transformacija nuo ekonominės politikos priedėlio į savarankišką politiką. Straipsnyje aptariama gerovės valstybės samprata ir modeliai, pabrėžiamas jos nacionalinis pobūdis. Išryškinant valstybės narės nacionalinės socialinės politikos ir ES socialinės politikos skirtumus, pabrėžiami pastarosios socialinio reguliavimo uždaviniai.

The paper presents an overview of M. Weber's modelling paradigm assessing it against the opportunities of using the models in modern science of public policy and administration. Two types of research problems requiring modelling of different levels are identified. The paper defines the static and the dialectic methods of modelling, the limits and possibilities of their application are defined. The novelty and relevance of the paper lies in the substantiation of advantages and drawbacks of static modelling and in the proving of the importance of normative character of science, which contradicts the traditional Weber's methodology. In public administration one may not rely only upon formal procedures, forms and rules, because this will not reveal the functions of the State and the interests underlying them. A public administration model must be characterised by normative content. Models of social processes must not necessarily reflect the reality exactly, however, they may serve as a tool for simplifying the mechanisms of social reality and for attempting to understand its mechanisms. Modelling may be static or dialectic. Static modelling is simpler since the number of variables it takes account of is smaller. In certain cases static modelling may be presented or desirable due to value considerations raised by the idealistic world. Idealistic philosophy gives rise to relevant phenomena, which can be neither confirmed nor rejected. Such models may be desirable as the given required by a peculiar belief and as components of the given. As far as social science is a value and "humanitarian" science, to such extent metaphysics, the static given and static modelling may yield results. Philosophical idealism is often presented as a source of political and economic liberalism, or a sign of equality Is placed between them. This is not entirely correct since state and social policy studies in the liberal social sciences are based on formal concepts without any normative content. Liberal sociological definitions designed for a parliamentary-democratic constitutional state usually cover only procedures, forms, rules and state activity instruments, avoiding a definition of the State's functions completely or partially. Not only the functions of the State remain unsubstantiated; possible consequences of manifestation of these functions or the interests of those who defend them or any backstairs interests behind the declared interests arc not explained. The Weberian methodological concept of democracy turns liberal democracy and pluralist theory into a sheer arsenal of technical means, which is unpredictable and incapable of explaining the deep phenomena of public administration and the more so - of social policy. It is not only in the West, but also in Eastern Europe including Lithuania, individual politicians and public administration experts wish to reduce the principle of social welfare to the constitutional and legal level, absolutising the legal aspect. Dialectic modelling is a kind of opposite to static modelling, or modelling that may supplement the latter substantially. And this is not just because it is able to "see the context". Using the dialectic relationship one may examine such historical dichotomies as belief and science, nationality and globalism, central and local government, private and public interest etc. In the most general sense, dialectic modelling is focussed on the determination of the content, form, contradiction between content and form, and finding of the place of this relationship in the world's development process. The methodology of dialectic modelling asserts that the dialectic relationship is a universal means of modelling of qualitative processes and may be used for the modelling of the processes for which sufficient qualitative exceptionality may be determined as compared with the previous qualitative stage. Eastern Europe encounters difficulties in social modelling due to a distinct transformational nature of social systems of these countries as well as due to frequent changes in the laws governing social security and tax policy. The latter factor also poses problems for Eastern European social scientists in processing the material and in modelling socio-economic development on its basis.

The paper presents an overview of M. Weber's modelling paradigm assessing it against the opportunities of using the models in modern science of public policy and administration. Two types of research problems requiring modelling of different levels are identified. The paper defines the static and the dialectic methods of modelling, the limits and possibilities of their application are defined. The novelty and relevance of the paper lies in the substantiation of advantages and drawbacks of static modelling and in the proving of the importance of normative character of science, which contradicts the traditional Weber's methodology. In public administration one may not rely only upon formal procedures, forms and rules, because this will not reveal the functions of the State and the interests underlying them. A public administration model must be characterised by normative content. Models of social processes must not necessarily reflect the reality exactly, however, they may serve as a tool for simplifying the mechanisms of social reality and for attempting to understand its mechanisms. Modelling may be static or dialectic. Static modelling is simpler since the number of variables it takes account of is smaller. In certain cases static modelling may be presented or desirable due to value considerations raised by the idealistic world. Idealistic philosophy gives rise to relevant phenomena, which can be neither confirmed nor rejected. Such models may be desirable as the given required by a peculiar belief and as components of the given. As far as social science is a value and "humanitarian" science, to such extent metaphysics, the static given and static modelling may yield results. Philosophical idealism is often presented as a source of political and economic liberalism, or a sign of equality Is placed between them. This is not entirely correct since state and social policy studies in the liberal social sciences are based on formal concepts without any normative content. Liberal sociological definitions designed for a parliamentary-democratic constitutional state usually cover only procedures, forms, rules and state activity instruments, avoiding a definition of the State's functions completely or partially. Not only the functions of the State remain unsubstantiated; possible consequences of manifestation of these functions or the interests of those who defend them or any backstairs interests behind the declared interests arc not explained. The Weberian methodological concept of democracy turns liberal democracy and pluralist theory into a sheer arsenal of technical means, which is unpredictable and incapable of explaining the deep phenomena of public administration and the more so - of social policy. It is not only in the West, but also in Eastern Europe including Lithuania, individual politicians and public administration experts wish to reduce the principle of social welfare to the constitutional and legal level, absolutising the legal aspect. Dialectic modelling is a kind of opposite to static modelling, or modelling that may supplement the latter substantially. And this is not just because it is able to "see the context". Using the dialectic relationship one may examine such historical dichotomies as belief and science, nationality and globalism, central and local government, private and public interest etc. In the most general sense, dialectic modelling is focussed on the determination of the content, form, contradiction between content and form, and finding of the place of this relationship in the world's development process. The methodology of dialectic modelling asserts that the dialectic relationship is a universal means of modelling of qualitative processes and may be used for the modelling of the processes for which sufficient qualitative exceptionality may be determined as compared with the previous qualitative stage. Eastern Europe encounters difficulties in social modelling due to a distinct transformational nature of social systems of these countries as well as due to frequent changes in the laws governing social security and tax policy. The latter factor also poses problems for Eastern European social scientists in processing the material and in modelling socio-economic development on its basis.

Transition from command-administrative to market economy, new prospects of international cooperation, process of globalization set new rules of social and economic behavior for citizens of the young Republic of Kazakhstan.