Introduction

Social policy is a broad term that could encompass government policies on education, health, employment, social security, social exclusion, and the like. There are very wide divergences in these policies in the member states (MSs) of the European Union (EU), and because they are related to the nature of society and considered sensitive, they are issues of high political salience. This meant that a uniform policy was not possible, that decision-making powers had to remain with MSs and that policies would differ across MSs.

The next section looks at the development of social and employment policy, and the rest of this chapter examines EU employment policy, in particular the European Employment Strategy (EES). There is a consideration of the economic theory and evidence relating to employment performance on which the EES is based. Then the nature of open method of coordination is analysed and EU employment performance is discussed, particularly in relation to EES targets. The final assessment considers the relationship between the EES and EU employment performance.