Trade Unions and European Integration

Abstract

This article discusses the role of trade unions in the process of European economic integration. European experience is distinctive in that the creation of a free-trade area has occurred within a supranational political and institutional framework, which has offered scope for Europeanwide regulation of market forces. Labor movements, organized within the European Trade Union Confederation, have attempted to influence the construction of a “social dimension” to economic integration. This article discusses reasons for their limited success and considers whether the obstacles can be better overcome in the future.