The first book to examine the social and economic arguments for, and the legal feasibility of, a European Social Union.

Part I. Solidarity and Legitimacy: 1. The idea of a European Social Union: a normative introduction Frank Vandenbroucke; 2. The European Social Union: a missing but necessary 'political good' Maurizio Ferrera; 3. The solidarity argument for the European Union Helder De Schutter; 4. Social justice in an ever more diverse Union Christian Joerges; 5. The democratic legitimacy of EU institutions and support for social policy in Europe Marc Hooghe and Soetkin Verhaegen; Part II. Topics in European Governance: 6. The impact of Eurozone governance on welfare state stability László Andor; 7. Booms and busts and the governance of the Eurozone Paul De Grauwe and Yuemei Ji; 8. What follows austerity? From Social Pillar to New Deal Simon Deakin; 9. Social dialogue: why it matters? European employers' perspective Philippe De Buck and Maxime Cerutti; 10. The European social dialogue: what is the role of employers and what are the hopes for the future? Philippe Pochet and Christophe Degryse; 11. The European Semester Process: adaptability and latitude in support of the European Social Model Sonja Bekker; 12. Balancing economic objectives and social considerations in the new EU Investment Agreements: commitments versus realities Rumiana Yotova; Part III. Legal and Institutional Challenges: 13. How can the Viking/Laval conundrum be resolved? Balancing the economic and the social: one bed for two dreams? Sjoerd Feenstra; 14. The basis in EU constitutional law for further social integration Geert De Baere and Kathleen Gutman; 15. EU social competences and Member State constitutional controls: a comparative perspective of national approaches Gerhard Van Der Schyff; 16. Social rights, the Charter and the ECHR: caveats, austerity and other disasters Alexander Kornezov; 17. The European Court of Justice as the guardian of the rule of EU social law Koen Lenaerts and José A. Gutierréz-Fons; Part IV. Politics: 18. The European Social Union and EU legislative politics Dorte Sindbjerg Martinsen; 19. (B)Remains of the day: Brexit and EU social policy Catherine Barnard.