ABSTRACT
As Kowalsky, an optimist, notes, it is necessary to counter such a “structuralist or deterministic view” by “recording that European initiatives that create conflicts have clear potential for politicization and thus also for change.” Within the framework of the study, action-theoretical perspective is intended to raise awareness of the emergence of common political positions among organized trade union interests at EU level. This chapter summarizes the insights that have been gained regarding position formation of organized trade union interests in European collective bargaining. The imaginary prospect of a coordination of wage policy in the future acts as a powerful instrument of political mobilization. Thus, in light of wage developments over recent decades, mere adjustment of national wage growth would not alter the current situation either in terms of national competitiveness or with regard to macroeconomic imbalances in the Eurozone. The attempts by groups studied to establish a European negotiation arena for collective bargaining are characterized by different ambitions and intensity.
