Pulp Fiction or Hard Fact? The Development of a European Employment Policy

This article provides an overview of the development of the new June 2005 EU employment package along with some observations regarding the likely effectiveness of the amendments introduced. Underpinning this analysis will be an assessment of the new emphasis given to employment policy at the European level. The formal linkage of employment with economic policy and the use of the problem-solving approach, originally designed for the employment field, as a blueprint for future policy initiatives indicate the prominence now given to this aspect of European integration. While this development is encouraging in profile-raising and agenda-setting terms, the author advises caution as the reliance on soft law mechanisms and the smoke-screen effect of such overt prominence could actually mask a retrograde step for social policy generally. Furthermore, the emphasis on job creation, if unaccompanied by hard law measures intended to provide minimum standards of employment protection, could severely compromise the quality of jobs throughout the EU.

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