ABSTRACT
The Europeanization of social policy has created a challenging, complex and fascinating situation for social non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The European Union (EU) has deployed a number of initiatives to encourage NGO participation in an emerging European polity. Social partners, voluntary organizations and citizen groups have gained key positions in new policy-making processes, such as the processes built on the open method of co-ordination (OMC), processes more inclusive to a variety of stakeholders and resting on the idea of reciprocal policy learning for every partner. The European Commission has encouraged the formation of EU-based networks and forums – e.g. in social inclusion policy and racism, xenophobia and age issues – aiming to encourage capacity building among national organizations and to help spread best practices. These initiatives have created new political opportunity structures at an EU level, thereby potentially challenging institutionalized patterns of policy-making in national contexts and pressuring national governments to introduce new forms of co-operation with organizations in the social field. Social NGOs now have the chance to take advantage of EU-related initiatives and transfer them to a national context, with the aim of strengthening their position (e.g. Della Porta et al. 1999; Ruzza 2004; Duffy and Jeliazkova 2005).
