Grenzen der Koordination europäischer Gewerkschaftspolitik: Die Episode der Abteilung Europäische Integration des DGB (1972–1975)

Abstract

During the 1970s, in the course of a renewal of European integration, German trade unions increasingly started to turn their attention towards the European level. In particular, the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) shifted the attention to European policy preparation and making. This realignment also sheds light on the need of a more coherent internal coordination in regard of European policies. For this purpose a new department (Abteilung Europaische Integration) was established inside the structure of the DGB. Though the department had been set-up with high expectations, it remained a temporary institution, since it had been closed only after three years. This paper scrutinises the background and motivations for both the beginnings and the closure of the DGB’s European Integration department, concentrating in detail on organisational aspects that still constitute a desideratum within research on Europeanisation.