The EU social turn in words and deeds: economic coordination and labour-market reforms

Scholars surveying the evolution of supranational priorities have heatedly debated the advent of a ‘social turn’ in EU economic governance. Yet the question of when EU normative shifts are put into practice has received less systematic attention. To address this gap, this article shifts the focus from polity socialisation – the growing sensitivity of EU governance to social concerns – to policy socialisation – the uptake of these orientations in national reform. Methodologically, it uses a mixed-method design combining longitudinal and comparative evidence to examine how EU prescriptions were shaped and mobilised in interaction with member states. A quantitative analysis of 344 labour-market recommendations (2011–2020) shows a recent peak in ‘market-correcting’ prescriptions. Case studies of Spain, Italy, France, and Germany, however, reveal considerable variation in uptake. In conclusion, we discuss how observed gaps between this socialisation ‘in words’ and its translation ‘into deeds’ may affect the lasting power of the EU’s social turn.