ABSTRACT
There are various reasons why in the present phase of global economic development social policy activities should take on a supranational character. Perhaps the most pressing reason is that economic competition between countries may lead them to shed the costs of social protection in order to be more competitive unless there are supranational regulations in place that discourage this. Seen in this light the development of an European social agenda seems an obvious expectation, yet progress has been slow and tentative. The very few efforts at improvement have almost exclusively been confined to labour market policies while the formulation of an European social safety net has lagged behind. More recently, however, there has been a move towards a greater focus on poverty and social exclusion.
