Hardening and softening of country-specific recommendations in the European Semester
Bekker,Sonja
Bekker,Sonja
Abstract
This article conceptualises and illustrates hardening and softening trends in country-specific recommendations (CSRs) that are part of the European Semester. It proposes an analytical framework that meets the specific characteristics of CSRs: its adaptable and non-uniform norms, which are co-determined by actors operating across governance levels. It proposes three elements to analyse hardening and softening of CSRs, adding the degree of ‘centralisation’ to the often used elements of ‘obligation’ and ‘enforcement’. Then it illustrates the framework with trends in CSRs given to Belgium and the Netherlands on pensions and wages. Both countries and topics show hardening as well as softening trends regarding the degree of obligation, enforcement and centralisation. The article suggests that a complete analysis of hardening and softening of CSRs requires assessing the degree of centralisation as well. Looking at obligation and enforcement alone could misinterpret the hardness or softness of CSRs.
Description
Funding Information: I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and the participants of the Grenoble Workshop on Normative Transformations in the EU for their valuable comments. Moreover, I am grateful for the thorough and constructive feedback I received from the researchers of the Inequality Platform of Copenhagen Business School and FAOS. In particular, I am indebted to Caroline De la Porte for her valuable suggestions. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Date
2021-01-02
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Keywords
European Semester, EU governance, EU social policy, economic governance, Pensions, Wages, social partners
Citation
Bekker, S 2021, 'Hardening and softening of country-specific recommendations in the European Semester', West European Politics, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 114-133. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2020.1739407