Greece: The Quest for National Welfare Expansion Through More Social Europe

Abstract

This chapter aims to analyse and explain Greece’s official response to the European Union’s (EU’s) evolving social policy. Understanding this response entails considering four important factors influencing the overall Greek attitude towards the European integration project: the country’s economic underdevelopment in relation to other EU countries; the late and inadequate development of social structures and the welfare state; the wide consensus among the major political parties on European integration, based on the predominance of political criteria; and the underdevelopment of civil society and the ineffectiveness of public administration.

Keywords: European social policy, OMC, Greece