ABSTRACT
The increased tempo of European integration, the ever-growing economic links and the resultant interdependence between states mean that interest groups can no longer limit their activities to the national level. Employers’ associations have realised the necessity of both transnational co-operation and the European dimension. The relations between the member states attained a new quality with the ratification of the Treaty of Rome and the establishment of the European Economic Community in 1957. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) brings together European trade unions. The ETUC is structured as a single-sector union. The ETUC pursues the aforementioned aims through the following bodies: The Congress, the Executive Committee, the Steering Committee and the Secretariat. Apart from the decision-making bodies and the Specific Groups, the ETUC also has a number of institutes. The ETUC’s activities are therefore mainly limited to an internal exchange of information and opinions within the trade union movement and to the programmatic level.
