The Impact of informing and consulting the workers on democratisation in the European Union and Turkey

ABSTRACTMaster of Arts inThe European Union StudiesThe Impact of Informing and Consulting the Workers on Democratisation inThe European Union and TurkeyGüvenç KÜÇÜKTOKDokuz Eylül UniversityInstitute of Social SciencesDepartment of the European StudiesInforming and consulting the workers is one of the most debated issues in thehistory of European social policy. The European integration has constantly put variousefforts for legal arrangements on informing and consulting the workers at Communitylevel. Within the recent decades there is apparently a shift in the approach to resolve theissue of informing and consulting the workers in European social policy frame.Significantly, this shift has many common points with the shift in the generalunderstanding of the European social policy and other common policies. Within the newframe, the rights regarding informing and consulting the workers have been developedin a more flexible, more liberalised and less conjunctive methodology. Therefore, it canbe said that the shift in the approach to resolve the issue in European social policy framehas many similarities with the shift in the understanding of the European integrationfollowing the 1980s.However, the European Union has now to face the challenge of democratising itsinstitutions and common policies in order to fulfil the requirements of a sustainableintegration process. Therefore, various attempts to create a European citizenship andbuilding more direct and legitimate links between the Europeans and the EuropeanUnion have arisen. It is likely that, the problematic of applying the social and economicrights of the Europeans into this new citizenship or building efficient tools to protectthose rights in the frame of a liberalised social and economic European polity willchallenge the search for this democratisation process.Key Words 1) Informing and Consulting the Workers 2) Democratisation3) European Works Councils 4) European Company Statue5) European Citizenship