3. The demise of the communist regime has irrevocably changed the conditions of the Eu­ropean integration process. The necessity for action has risen dramatically, but it offers a tremendous opportunity for the trade unions to renew themselves, particularly if they succeed in meshing together the pre-democratic and pre-modern stage of development in the East with the social and economic structures of the West which have reached well into the post­industrial age. The trade unions have an indis­pensible role to play as a force for social pro­tection. 4. Despite the extremely difficult political and economic situation which marks Europe at this time(as a result of the once paramount goal of economic union), a courageous and pur­poseful trade unionist capable of acting across the entire European stage will find open gateways to a European Social Union. EC-Europe is in a stage of on-going ex­perimentation and has already created many valuable prerequisites for the shaping of the social dimension. 5. The splintering of the trade unions and the patchwork of nation-specific working condi­tions(often serving the trade unions as an ex­cuse for delaying their full appearance on the European stage) can be turned to advantage when the unions learn to practice a coopera­tive pluralism in the course of their work. A Euro-trade unionist will find that a form of or­ganization directed to the resolution of exist­ing problems can arise out of this diversity, but not if it is based on a policy of establish­ing uniformity. 6. Within the European Trade Union Con­federation(ETUC), the conditions are taking shape for it to become the central political force in supranational trade union activities. The ETUC is already today a privileged par­ticipant in the political discussion taking place in Europe; internally as a mediator in inter­union conflicts and externally as a representa­tive of the trade unions' Euro-policy. Z The national trade unions(like transnational corporations) must internationalize their organ­izational forms. It is only through Europeaniza­tion that the unions can escape the trap of continuing to orientate their organizations and staff to the merely national level. 8. The fears of workers in the more prosper­ous EC countries and those with developed forms of co-determination should be taken seriously. These fears stem from the under­bidding effects of low-wage workers and the deregulation programmes of neo-liberal politi­cians. Clearly, there will only be protection against a shift to the right by a worried work force if the trade unions take up the task of shaping the social dimension in Europe. What the national unions have managed to do in their own countries they must now repeat on a European-wide basis: welfare-state democ­racy is not the task of EC officials, but rather that of workers' organizations. In contrast to the frequently heard thesis(es­pecially in Germany) that a strong national an­chor is the best means to prevent anti-trade union developments in Europe, the opinion expressed in this paper is that the European­ization of trade union activity is the best pro­tection for the native workforce. 2