Policy europeanisation

Abstract

This chapter presents findings relating to policy Europeanisation, which has been argued to be the most common and widespread dimension of the Europeanisation process of a country (Diez et al., 2005). More precisely, it aims to shed light on the legislative changes pursued between 2000 and 2017 under EU influence.

To accomplish this, the chapter is organised in four sections. The first section explores the bottom-up Europeanisation of Germany because this research argues that the Europeanisation process of a member state begins when the member state starts trying to shape the EU policy package in line with its own policy preference. To this end, the first section of this chapter seeks to understand Germany’s role in shaping the EU WFLR package. The aim of bottom-up Europeanisation is to reduce the level of misfit between the domestic and EU legislative frameworks and the concomitant adaptational pressure. Having explained the bottom-up Europeanisation outcome of Germany, in the second section the chapter turns to outline the EU’s requirements of Germany and also of Turkey, this time with respect to their WFLR policies. In the third section, the discussion focuses on the legislative changes featured by the selected countries in response to EU requirements on the basis of Esping-Andersen’s (1999) concept of de-familialisation. A closer examination of WFLR policies made in both Turkey and Germany under EU influence indicates an incomplete and contradictory Europeanisation because both governments have continued to pass familialised laws, which would push women back to the familial sphere, while simultaneously passing de-familialised ones. This in the end has done nothing but produce an ambivalent Europeanisation process in both countries. Therefore, the fourth and final section of this chapter examines the puzzling notions of the legislative changes. The chapter introduces the departure point of this research as it outlines the domestic policy reforms – which are deemed to be conscious preferences of a certain ideology – made under EU influence. By identifying the selected countries’ legislative responses to the EU requirements, it lays the groundwork for further illustrations at discursive, political and societal levels.