Abstract
Neither the concept of reconciliation of work and family life nor family policies102 were contemplated by the original Treaty of the European Community. This is unsurprising in an economically oriented Treaty, the primary aim of which was to create a single market. The Treaty of Rome was market-making rather than market-correcting and it aimed to create an integrated labour market that functioned efficiently, rather than to correct its outcomes in line with political standards of social justice.103 Such an approach was reinforced by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which was initially reluctant to deal with questions concerning the family, its organisation and the division of responsibility between parents.104 Accordingly, in this context, social goals were seen as merely side issues to achieving greater economic integration.105 Over the last two decades, however, the political and legal context has changed dramatically and in recent years there has been a substantive shift towards more social-based legislation. In particular, the Treaty of Amsterdam made it clear that equality is to be viewed as a proactive obligation within the EU.106 As a result of this process, reconciliation has gradually been included in the agenda. Its development, at least at an early stage, has been ancillary to the development of other issues rather than as a stand-alone concept.
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Notes
W. Streeck, ‘Neo-Voluntarism: A New Social Policy Regime’, European Law Journal, 1 (1995), p. 31.
B. Ohlin, ‘Social Aspects of European Economic Co-operation: Report by a Group of Expert’, International Labour Review, 102 (1956), 99
C. Barnard, The Economic Objectives of Article 119’, in T. Hervey and D. O’Keeffe (eds), Sex Equality Law in the European Union (Chichester: Wiley, 1996), 321–334.
A. Numhauser-Henning, ‘EU Sex Equality post-Amsterdam’, in H. Meenan (ed.). Equality Law in an Enlarged European Union (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 145–177.
A. Leira, Working Parents and the Welfare State (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007).
See T. Hervey, European Social Law and Policy (Harlow: Longman, 1998).
See for instance: F. Beveridge and S. Velluti, Gender and the Open Method of Coordination Perspectives on Law, Governance and Equality in the EU (Dartmouth: Ashgate, 2008).
E. Caracciolo di Torella and A. Masselot, ‘Pregnancy, Maternity and the Organisation of Family Life: An Attempt to Classify the Case Law of the Court of Justice’, European Law Review, 26 (2001), 239–260
S. O’Leari, Employment Law at the European Court of Justice (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2002)
On this point see further G. James, The Legal Regulation of Pregnancy and Parenthood (London: Cavendish-Routledge, 2009).
E. Caracciolo di Torella and A. Masselot, ‘Pregnancy, Maternity and the Organisation of Family Life: An Attempt to Classify the Case Law of the Court of Justice’, European Law Review 26 (2001), 239–260.
C. McGlynn, ‘Reclaiming a Feminist Vision: The Reconciliation of Paid Work and Family Life in European Union Law and Policy’, The Columbia Journal of European Law, 7(2) (2001), 241–272.
L. Ackers, Shifting Spaces — Women, Citizenship and Migration in the European Union (Bristol: Policy Press, 1998).
S. Hadj-Ayed and A. Masselot, ‘Reconciliation between Work and Family Life in the EU: Reshaping Gendered Structures?’, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 26(3) (2004), 325–338.
S. Fredman, ‘European Discrimination Law: A Critique’, Industrial Law Journal 21 (1992), 119–134
L. Finley, ‘Transcending Equality Theory: A Way Out of the Maternity and the Workplace Debate’, Columbia Law Review, 86 (1986), 1118–1182
See further M. Stratigaki, ‘The European Union and the Equal Opportunities Process’, in L. Hantrais (ed.), Gendered Policies in Europe: Reconciling Employment and Family Life (London: Macmillan, 2000), 27–48.
M. Benn, Madonna and Child: Towards a new Politics of Motherhood (London: Jonathan Cape, 1998).
C. Hokyns, Integrating Gender: Women, Law and Politics in the European Union (London: Verso, 1996), p. 52
S. Koukoulis-Spiliotopoulos, The Lisbon Treaty and the Charter of Fundamental Rights: Maintaining and Developing the acquis in Gender Equality’, European Gender Equality Law Review, 1 (2008), 15–24.
For a different interpretation see G. James, The Legal Regulation of Pregnancy and Maternity in the Labour Market (London: Routledge-Cavendish, 2009).
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© 2010 Eugenia Caracciolo di Torella and Annick Masselot
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Torella, E.C.d., Masselot, A. (2010). The Development of the Reconciliation Principle in EU Discourse. In: Reconciling Work and Family Life in EU Law and Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230246683_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230246683_2
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