Abstract
This introductory chapter to the Compendium on European Social Work discusses different versions and orientations under which the "Europeanisation" of social work has been attempted and promoted. It points out the limitations of those approaches and proposes instead a guiding version which illustrates the European significance of the following chapters from their particular perspectives by showing that a European orientation does not mean harmonisation and standardisation but on the contrary illustrates the necessary engagement of social work with specific social, cultural and political contexts.
This trans-national orientation allows professionals to take a critical stance towards policy and organisational frameworks under which they operate and which they are mandated to examine critically and if necessary to transform.