European Social Models between Globalisation and Europeanisation

This paper aims to analyse some aspects of the relationship between the European integration’s process and the worldwide globalisation process. In particular, I will focus (i) on the impact of such phenomena on “European social model” and (ii) on how the two phenomena influence each other. Theoretical considerations are compared with some empirical observations. The main “flaw” of orthodox approach is that empirically, inside the EU, we do not observe the “violent migration” neither of firm nor of citizens-workers that it need in order to let the whole system operate as it predicts. The original point drawn by this analysis is consistent with the heterodox approach arguing that pressures to European welfare system came principally from the globalisation-project that using the myth of competitiveness give to political (national) leaders a powerful tool in order to deal neoliberal reforms of social models by imputing responsibility to external constraints without losing consent or, at least, limiting the political costs of their actions.