Studying EU Soft Law Effects in Social Policy

Abstract

This working paper presents the results of research carried out by the social policy team of the SoLaR network. The research examined how the Commission’s guidelines and recommendations in the field of EU social policy take effect in a number of Member States: Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, UK and Slovenia. We look at the transposition into the national legal order and complement insights with exploratory interviews with administrative authorities and judges regarding their view and their use of EU social soft law. The paper consists of two parts. The first section introduces the policy area and sheds light on the substance and policy-making process of the soft law instruments studied. The second part turns to the selected Member States. We comparatively assess the effects soft law took and discuss cross cutting aspects.

Keywords: Social policy; EU law; Soft law; Member States

JEL Classification: K10