Collection of Class Room Materials: European and International Law in the Field of Social Affairs; European and International Social Policies (Skriptum: Europaeisches und Internationales Sozialrecht. Europaeische und Internationale Sozialpoltik)

Abstract

German Abstract:English Abstract: This class-room material collection, actually being used in the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Austria (March 2015) for newly entering ministerial employees, is being made available freely on-line to the public in Europe and beyond. It aims to present a broad and general introduction into the functionings and contents of European and international social policies and the institutional framework, which is at their basis.The basic theoretical framework is particularly influenced by the question of how to achieve a social convergence in the divergent continent. The class-room materials could be of special interest not only to students and academics, dealing with European studies, but also to the staff of ministries, regional and municipal entities in the new member states of the European Union, and in the accession countries and neighboring countries of Europe, and to staff of international bureaucracies and transnational corporations dealing with the European region.The materials present an overview of the decision making process at the level of the European Union, they introduce the logic and functionings of European law, and present the structures of the European parliament, the European Union Commission, the entry into force of the Lisbon contract etc.The presentation of the social policies of the European Union is connected with a more broader debate on the noble aims and dismal realities of the so-called EU-2020 process, by which the Union aimed in 2010 to make smarter and more growth-oriented.The materials remind readers of the importance of the United Nations, the ILO, the WTO, and the Council of Europe. Their socio-political agenda and basic structures are presented, all again in the theoretical framework of the economic and social convergence and divergence in Europe.