From Paris to Lisbon : the ever-changing European social policy landscape

Since the early days of European integration, social policies have been a particularly contentious field. This was due, to an important extent, to the combined effect of the resilience of national welfare states and the idiosyncratic nature of the integration process. It was this context that led to the development of a specific pattern of social policies at the European level, characterised by the coexistence of different methods of governance. This chapter will reflect on the European repertoire of social policies, their distinctive features and how they have evolved over time. It will end with a discussion of how Europe, de facto, influences domestic social policies, as well as the challenges facing further developments in this policy field.