The EU’s impact on the Spanish welfare state: the role of cognitive Europeanization

Abstract:

This article assesses to what extent the enlargement of the EU towards Spain has impacted the reform of social policies up to the present. Despite the fact that the norms issued by the European Union regarding the regulation of social-protection policies is scant, becoming a member of such a supranational institution can be expected to have influenced the redesign of welfare states either directly or indirectly, thus contributing to the overcoming of path dependence. The article analyses the influence of EU accession on both procedural and substantive aspects, i.e. on the policy-making process and institutional remodelling, and on the design and content of social policies respectively. The article discusses the influence of the EU as compared to that of domestic politics and other international organizations on the redesign of the Spanish welfare state. It concludes that a significant process of cognitive Europeanisation may be ascertained.