ABSTRACT
Introduction This chapter seeks to delve beneath the surface of what is, superficially, a harmonious Franco-German relationship in support of a European ‘social dimension’ and to examine the preferences and motivations of the two countries. It reveals an awkward alliance between the two from the early years of the integration process. Although there have been phases of close co-operation, there has also been frequent conflict. The relationship has evolved within a policy ‘environment’ that has been politically and institutionally ‘structured’ by both countries as leaders, but in unequal fashion and alongside other, significant nonstate actors: while each has contributed via intergovernmental bargains to the legislative development of the social dimension (although with France often setting the pace), the Commission (especially during the years of the MitterrandDelors axis) has been a major, although controversial, contributor to legislative advances, as well as a tactical ally of the European labour movement (and especially its powerful German component) in building the industrial relations ‘social dialogue’.
