ABSTRACT
The 1990s have been marked by a range of political and social upheavals. In Europe in particular, new sorts of problems have arisen, which have not been seen in such an extent before. The breakdown of the East-European socio-political systems and the reunification of Germany, with their associated conflicts and break-ups, has given the European Union considerable integrational tasks to fulfil. Furthermore, an increasingly ageing population, tendencies towards mass poverty and the continuously high numbers of unemployed will put the democratic stability of the industrialised member states of the Union to the test. In addition, there are the effects of the use of new technologies on the existing economic as well as on the individual sociopolitical situation.
