ABSTRACT
Europeanization and globalization have exposed the nursing profession in the European Union (EU) Member States to new forces and pressures. European integration has definitely decreased the Member States' policy margin in many facets of the health care and professional sectors. The domestic impact of EU norms is related to specific policy practices and political patterns at the national level. The decentralized manner of implementation has allowed national interests, traditions, practices, and political culture to play a role. Commentators have also linked nursing's invisibility to the lack of a unique social language specific to the profession. The Global Advisory Group on Nursing and Midwifery, over a decade ago, was concerned with the lack of contribution of these practitioners' expertise to policy-making processes at the local, national, regional, and global levels. A distinctive social nursing language would aid endeavors in this domain.
