This book explores the impact on EU member states of intensified European cooperation in the field of vocational education and training. By employing the Varieties of Capitalism approach as an analytical framework, it seeks to bridge diverging views from an innovative standpoint: While many experts argue that EU policies liberalize national training systems in spite of being ¿soft law¿, Varieties of Capitalism argues that these polices do not produce a convergence of national institutions. The book maintains that European instruments such as the European Qualifications Framework and the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training are indeed biased towards liberal training regimes. On the basis of case studies on Germany, the Netherlands and England, it shows that the initiatives were implemented in line with national training systems. Thus, European soft law does not lead to a convergence of training regimes ¿ or, as the book posits, of welfare states in general.

Acknowledgements.- 1 Introduction.- 2 The Copenhagen Process: A Political Economy Perspective.- 3 The Impact of the Copenhagen Process on the German Training Regime.- 4 The Impact of the Copenhagen Process on the Dutch Training Regime.- 5 The Impact of  the Copenhagen Process on the English Training Regime.- 6 Comparison and Conclusion.- Appendix.

Dr. Christine Ante works on labour markets, education systems and European policies. Currently, she is a desk officer in the unit for European social and employment policies in the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Christine Ante holds a Master`s degree in Public Policy from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, where she also completed her PhD in Governance. She has focused on participation procedures and project management in a consultancy and served as deputy director of operations at a local Employment Agency in Germany.