British Labour and the European Union: The Europeanisation of Trade Unions?

Mass, Erin Van der. (2004) British Labour and the European Union: The Europeanisation of Trade Unions? In: UNSPECIFIED, Sheffield, UK.

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Abstract

[From the Introduction]. The revitalisation of the EU since the 1980s has seen a qualitative change in the trajectory of the integration project. Market integration is at the core of the change and represents Europe’s response to competitive challenges from US and Japanese markets. The Single European Act and the subsequent rounds of intergovernmental conferences (IGCs, Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice etc) have deepened market integration by removing both tariff and non-tariff barriers to the free-movement of goods and services. This has been achieved by relaxing the intergovernmental decision-making process and allowing for qualified majority voting (QMV) in the Council of Ministers in policy areas concerned with market making. The consolidation of the single market has been followed by the creation of a single European currency. Although the UK has yet to decide whether or not to join the Euro, these changes are significant for trade unions. Previously nationally bounded firms have now become Euro-companies with corporate governance, in addition to macro-economic, financial and political governance, shifting to the European level.

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