Bringing the European Pillar of Social Rights to Life: Lessons from four Member States

Using a Europeanization framework, this study analyses the degree of “misfit” between EU directives adopted under the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) and pre-existing national laws in Belgium, Ireland, Italy and Poland. Findings show that the EPSR has a modest added value in shaping national social rights. Overall, there is typically a low level of misfit, and national laws just have to be slightly altered to comply with EU legislation. Where a greater misfit did exist, resistance often weakened implementation. In fact, this research reveals that successful and ambitious implementation depends on the political will of national governments and the power and ability of labour unions to mobilise. The study concludes that EU law is filtered by domestic political factors and administrative capacities.