ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses institutions of the type – economic and social councils – are, for example, a source of research and expertise that are very useful, inter alia, for training, as well as an important source of information and publications. It examines the various types and powers of economic and social councils (ESC) in Western Europe, their historical origins and legal basis, composition, organization and functioning. The chapter highlights their possible role and limitations concerning the development of democratic participation in enterprises and in industrial relations in general. It deals with the economic and social committee of the European Union (EU), followed by one devoted to 'European social dialogue'. Enlargement of the EU towards Central and Eastern Europe requires tripartite structures for social dialogue to be more and more active in order to prevent the formal perpetuation of the dominance of the state.
