A comparative study to show resemblances in gender policies of the EU member states that derive from acquis communautaire obligations and to reflect their differences which arise from diversified political and socio-economic conditions

In a regular nation state, market policies and social policies are always in a political competition at the very same constitutional level. However in Europe, European integration created a fundamental asymmetry between policies promoting market efficiencies and those promoting social protection and equality, i.e. social policies remained at national level while market policies are progressively europeanised therefore, social policies are politically hindered by the diversity of national welfare traditions and society structures. As a predicament that causes problems for all EU Member States, `gender inequality? had become a problem at European level. Thus, `Gender Equality? has become an indispensable element of the Acquis Communautaire and a key aspect of embraced European values. Yet, diversified socio-economic and political structures of the Member States can cause reproduction of different approaches and/or implementations of obligatory EU policies. In this sense, this study examines the ways that these varied structures of the Member States affect the implementation of gender equality obligations derived from the EU law; and tries to uncover the reasons why national gender equality frameworks among some member states stand still and why they advance in others, whereas the same obligatory EU policies create `Europeanised gender policies? at national level in the most recent Member States.