The Economic Versus the Social & CulturalAspects of the European Union

If today a country is incorporated in the EU this means that there are a lot of advantages, you can stayin your country and keep your job, you can speak your language and Europe comes to you, you do nothave to leave your home to improve your living conditions. But Europe has embraced privatisation,globalisation and enlargement too quickly and by that has forgotten how the EU has developed. TheEuropean welfare state was developed by very experienced conservative politicians who had realisedthat fascism had its roots in social inequality. That’s why Europe has a legacy of a strong welfare stateand many are too much in hurry to say good bye to it to please neo-liberalist economists. For the firsttime since the end of World War II Europeans can expect that their children will not be as prosperousand secure as they are today.So how can the European model be saved and be made more attractive for its citizens? One solutionthat is clearly discernable from opinion polls and the interviews conducted for this paper is a processof decentralisation and drastic scrapping of superfluous rules and regulations that has to take placewithin the EU soon. The possibilities of the principle of subsidiarity have to be explored and the EUhas to think about what can be delegated to national or even regional levels. The second solutionwould be an improvement of the information policy of the EU, so that the man in the street canunderstand what new projects, laws and contracts that affect him/her are about. The EU has tomanage to enthuse the people and convince them of the values of the European idea and its officialsshould not withdraw into their committees and offices and just do a good job as technocrats. Further,local politicians have to be aware of the damage they inflict on the European idea if they continuouslyblame the EU for their own inadequacies. Finally, the most important issue that has contributed to awidespread rejection of the EU is the neo-liberalist economic policy of the Union. At a time when themiddle class – always a

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Year of publication:	2008-09-01
Authors:	Wurm, Susanne
Institutions:	Fachhochschule des BFI Wien
Subject:	Europäische Union \| Dezentralisation \| Entwicklung \| Informationspolitik

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Preface
1. Introduction
2. The Historical and Cultural Concept of Europe as a Unity
2.1. Why did Anyone ever Think of Europe as a Separate Continent?
2.2. The European Civilisation
2.3. The Unity of Europe
2.4. Defining European Identity
3. The Development of European Economic Integration
3.1. Building a European Economic Community
3.2. Problems of European Integration
4. European Cultural Convergence
5. The Challenge of a Common European Social Policy
5.1. Industrial Relations in the EU
5.2. European Social Fund and Social Charter
5.3. Public Pensions and Health Care in the EU
5.4. The Swedish Model. A Social Model for Europe?
6. Does the EU Need a New Welfare Model?
7. The Challenge of a “Borderless World” for Europe
8. The EU Budget: The Distribution of Funds
9. The “Old” and the “New” Europe
9.1. The EU Enlargements 2004/2007 and their Impact on EU Integration
9.2. The Present State of European Integration & the State of European Nations
10. The Economic versus the Social Aspects in European States and in the European Union
11. The European Model of Society
11.1. Small versus Big States
12. Dealing with Discontent and Democratic Deficit
13. What do Europeans think about the EU?
14. The Attitude of Austrian Professionals to the EU. An Analysis of Qualitative Interviews
15. Conclusion
16. Bibliography
17. References

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