The internal market of the European Union provides unprecedented opportunities for economic and social developments. The fundamental right of free movement is a major achievement, but needs to be accompanied by policy measures such as the adjustment of social security systems and social measures, aiming at the integration of people in work, culture and society. This is needed because of our richness and diversity in terms of history and culture, which is visible in law, structures and habits.
The success of our European project will not depend on the harmonisation of our diverse cultures, but on their co-evolution. In this respect, everything starts with a better, mutual understanding of each other’s specific conditions and history. This action aims at supporting people who work in European structures, who are posted or who are working in or with European Works Councils to better understand the political and cultural background of people from other countries.
The main activity of the action is the production of a book, presenting timelines of social progress in some 15 to 20 countries in Europe. These timelines shall very briefly describe milestones of social progress in various fields such as workers’ rights, citizens’ rights, gender equality, human rights, anti-discrimination, economic or social rights. Additionally, the book shall encompass one or two articles for the respective countries, each dealing with a specific event or aspect of social progress and explain the changing societal practices triggered by this event. The articles shall also provide additional information about actors, new institutions or organisations, cultural artefacts and links to further information.
The dissemination and especially the follow up activities shall focus on offering seminars in trade union structures or EWCs. For the information to become easily accessible, we intend to produce a print version of the book as well as an electronic version, in eight languages.