The ‘Leap’ from Coordination to Harmonization in Social Policy: Labour Mobility and Occupational Pensions in Europe..
Guardiancich, I. (2016). The ‘Leap’ from Coordination to Harmonization in Social Policy: Labour Mobility and Occupational Pensions in Europe. Journal of Common Market Studies, 54(6), 1313-1331.
The Supplementary Pension Rights Directive, legislated in 2014, represents a leap from minimum coordination of social security rights to minimal harmonization, thereby facilitating the portability of occupational pensions across the EU. The Lisbon Treaty, which relaxed the voting requirements in the Council, facilitated its adoption. In the ‘shadow of the vote’, the opponents (mainly Continental CMEs) abandoned the defence of the status quo for less exacting legislation. The majority of Member States instead understood that consensus was necessary to appease the domestic concerns of countries like Germany and to strengthen its negotiating position vis-à-vis the Parliament. Despite the inevitable watering down, the final law modifies domestic pension arrangements across the EU, thereby benefiting mobile workers. The implications are twofold. First, political economists should take into account the growing European influence on domestic pension policymaking. Second, the extension of QMV to sensitive areas of social policy will probably enhance overall harmonization.