P. Vesan, F. Corti, in Politiche Sociali - Il Mulino, vol. 1, 2018, pp. 125-142.

ABSTRACT

Since 2015, Jean Claude Juncker has promoted the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) as the central aspect of his new strategy to relaunch the EU social dimension. The Social Pillar has the stated aim to be a «compass» for achieving an «upward social convergence» within the European Monetary Union. In November 2017, the presidents of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission signed the inter-institutional proclamation on the EPSR. This proclamation represents the first political commitment on the EPSR's principles, though its concrete policy outputs are still uncertain. This article traces the development of the EPSR and illustrates some of the main tensions, limits and strengths of this initiative. Finally, the article proposes a research agenda based on three axes which refer to the study of the EPSR as a milestone of the new «social strategy» carried out by the President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker.

This article is available at https://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.7389/89922

M. Ferrera, A. Pellegata, in Journal of European Public Policy, vol. 25, no. 10, 2018, pp. 1461-1480. Also published online on 21 June 2018

ABSTRACT.

The aim of this paper is to investigate citizen views on the free movement of workers within the European Union (EU). We are interested in how situational and relational factors affect labour market chauvinist attitudes. Drawing on the threat theory, we advance new hypotheses on the role of intertemporal relative deprivation in amplifying chauvinist inclinations. From the intergroup contact theory and transnational approaches, we borrow insights on the role played by cross-border experiences and inclusion in discursive and associational networks in containing chauvinism. The analysis uses the original ‘Reconciling Economic and Social Europe’ (REScEU) survey conducted in six EU countries (i.e., France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden) in the fall of 2016. The article shows that – though rooted in class and status positions – chauvinist attitudes are clearly sensitive to contingent situations and lifeworld experiences.

This article is available here