Channels of Influence: The EU and Delta Convergence of Core Labour Standards in the Eastern Neighbourhood

This article analyses the influence of the EU’s actions on labour standards in the Eastern neighbourhood. It conceptualizes the EU’s actions as potential delta convergence mechanisms and models these mechanisms through a spatial econometric approach, using spatial lags. It then analyses the impact of these mechanisms on target countries’ rate of alignment with the International Labour Organization’s standards using spatial two-stage least squares regression analysis. The results indicate that the EU influences labour standards in the observed countries through a combination of coercion and example-setting, but more so through the former than through the latter. The study finds that participation in the European Neighbourhood Policy does not influence countries’ labour standards, nor does being a Generalized System of Preferences beneficiary. The article concludes that the EU influences labour standards through the manipulation of target countries’ cost-benefit calculations.