Abstract: This paper argues that the accession of 10 new Member States in 2004 represents the greatest challenge the EU has ever faced, since the considerable enlargement in surface area and population, along with the increase in the number of countries and languages, is not matched by a commensurate rise in GDP. In the countries of Central and Eastern Europe the development of industrial relations has not managed to keep pace with the emergence of democratic freedoms and the market economy, with highly individualistic neo-liberal values tending to prevail. The weakness of the trade unions is matched by that of the employers’ associations, and collective bargaining is largely confined to company or plant level. In Central and Eastern Europe a legalistic approach is common, with a wide gap between legislative provisions and day-to-day practice, but EU Directives increasingly rely on the active participation of the social partners for their implementation, that varies widely from country to country. The impact of the single currency on working conditions and collective bargaining is discussed, some cases of cross-border collective bargaining are examined, and the fundamental role of employee participation in company decision-making is underlined. Without the involvement of social partners and/or workers’ representatives, the most recent Directives cannot be implemented in a satisfactory manner. The challenge is therefore for the EU as a whole to build an integrated system of industrial relations, and for the new Member States in particular to play an active part in this transformation.
International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations