유럽단일시장의 형성과 공동사회정책의 가능성 연구

Abstract

In the current academic debate on European integration, the social dimension represents one of the most controversial issues. In an incrementalist and somewhat optimistic perspective, many studies consider that european integration process has been covering various dimensions, from the formation of the customs union to the production of common policies, including the social dimension. On the other hand, in a critical perspective, pessimists point out the fact that the integration process was mainly oriented to economic community building, avoiding any consideration of the social dimension. This article aims to clarify the confusion induced by the differences of views and introduces the distinction between the production of social norms and rules in the integration process and their implementation at both the European and national level. Historically, the social dimension has been present since the Rome Treaty of 1950s and reinforced since then, especially by the action plan of the 1970s and the Social Charter of 1989. The Maastricht Treaty gave the European Union policy instruments necessary for the effective implementation and harmonization of social norms, opening the way to the emergence of the european common social policy. The contingency of this policy based upon the specificity of a european socio-economic model fundamentally depends on the distribution and the nature of governing political forces among main member-countries and their interaction in the context of enlargement.