INTERNATIONAL POLICY ANALYSIS Giving Teeth to the EU’s Social Dimension Dismal Failure and Promising Potential ALEXANDER SCHELLINGER September 2015 „ „ The social dimension of the European Union was fundamentally weakened in two stages: at the end of the 1990s, binding legislation lost considerable ground in favour of non-binding coordination of national labour market policies by means of the open method of coordination. In the wake of the euro crisis this coordination was transferred in broad areas to ministers of finance and the economy. Today, the programmes and instruments of the social dimension are being hollowed out and play only a secondary role in EU policymaking. „ „ The major losers from this development are employees and trade unions in the member states. Since the end of the 1990s European labour law has been rolled back. The social dialogue at European level, once a beacon of hope for a Social Europe, no longer gives rise to binding agreements. Not only can there be close interference in collective bargaining through the European Semester, but systematic participation by trade unions in the coordination process has been and continues to be prevented. „ „ Within the framework of the current treaties further development of the social dimension is difficult, but – within limitations – possible: the parity between economic and social policy actors in the European Semester, the use of the enhanced co­operation procedure and the strengthening of employees and trade unions by means of codetermination and social dialogue can be the cornerstones of a sustainable reorientation. There is a window of opportunity for this with progressive governments in key member states and the new political dependence of the European Commission.