Towards Social Europe? Industrial relations after 1992

In this paper, there is an assessment of the likelihood of the social dimension of the 1992 EC programme amounting to a new model of social development for the community. The conclusion is that the centripetal forces required for the creation of a fully fledged social union are absent from the integration process. Hence despite the upsurge of Europeanization, considerable centrifugal forces remain inside the Community, preventing the immediate enactment of a big policy model. Above all, no heavy intrusion is likely to occur into existing national systems of welfare and labour market regulation.