A Social Compact for a Social Union: A Political and Legal Window of Opportunity?

The social crisis within the euro zone has showed more than the need for more integration in social areas. It was more than to consolidate the EMU and the way the welfare states within the EU have been developed. It has also triggered new thinking about how a Social Union might look like. This article explores from both a political science and a legal point of view how to overcome the problem that in the social area not all member states are willing to take further steps to strengthen the integration process of the European Union. It particularly examines whether the Fiscal Compact can serve as model for the challenge of differentiated integration. The central question is therefore whether such a model - developed outside the existing political and legal framework - is applicable to the social area, or, in other words, whether a Social Compact is possible, feasible and desirable and under what circumstances.status: publishe