ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the empirical findings from the three political fields studied. It explains the framework conditions and actor constellations of trade union activity in the countries studied—Sweden, Hungary, and Poland—and at the European level. The chapter focuses on the presenting the respective organizations studied and determining their ability to act with regard to European collective bargaining. The profiles of the social partners in Sweden’s political system go back to the beginning of the twentieth century. In the field of the freedom of services, trade unions are fighting for the regulation of transnational labor conditions. The determining feature of the discussion surrounding the Services Directive emerges against the background of European Union (EU) eastern enlargement: On the eve of Eastern EU enlargement, West EUs grew increasingly concerned about the potential impact of migration and posting from new EU member states on wages and working conditions in their countries.
