Trade unions and European integration

This article discusses the role of trade unions in the process of European economic integration. European experience is distinctive in that the creation of a free-trade area has occurred within a supranational political and institutional framework, which has offered scope for European-wide regulation of market forces. Labor movements, organized within the European Trade Union Confederation, have attempted to influence the construction of a ''social dimension'' to economic integration This article discusses reasons for their limited success and considers whether the obstacles can be better overcome in the future.