Abstract
The presented paper describes the evolution and current state of social policy coordination at the European level and concentrates on on-going efforts for its harmonization among EU member states. It problematizes such endeavours through discussing the subject of subsidiarity and challenges, which such harmonization poses to democracy and democratic accountability, mainly for political representations, by dominantly addressing the basic mechanisms and tools to coordinate social policies, in particular the European Semester and the Open method of coordination.
After a rigorous theoretical discussion of the legitimacy of social policy coordination and harmonization, the presented paper observes that the on-going economic crisis has had a profound impact on the social sphere, in consequence of which the European Commission released the Social investment package, which is a manifestation of its focus on the given issue. On the basis of the example of this dossier, the presented paper practically problematizes the issue of EU governance and addresses the plausibility and indispensability of the harmonisation of national social policies at the EU level.
The presented paper conjointly points out specific current dossiers in EU social policy, which derive from the Social investment package and which address the issue of unemployment (especially of young people and NEET’s) and labour mobility. The presented paper concludes by summarizing the main theoretical and practical challenges in coordination and harmonization of national social policies at the supranational level and sets these efforts in line with the current economic and social crisis.