About the Module

Jean Monnet Module ‘Social Policy and Politics in the EU’ (SPPEU) (610827-EPP-1-2019-1-BG-EPPJMO-MODULE) focuses on EU social dimension. It examines EU social acquis and policy initiatives; national actors’ EU-level activism; and challenges faced by the EU in the social field.

The Module involves the following activities:

1. i) an academic course on EU social policy and policy instruments, taught at the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) in the Spring semesters of 2020, 2021 and 2022;
2. ii) an annual Debate on a selected social aspect of the European Semester report on Bulgaria. The Debate will involve the presentation of the report by a Commision Representation officer; a contribution by a social policy expert; and working group discussions between representatives of social partner and civic society organisations, AUBG students and European Studies students from other Bulgarian universities.

iii) a research agenda on CEE social partner organisations’ activism, pursued by Prof. Magdalena Bernaciak, the Module’s Coordinator.

The Module reflects the increasing relevance of EU social regulations and instruments for workers across Europe, which creates the need to familiarise university students with key legal documents and policy tools in the social sphere.

By staging the annual Debate on the European Semester report, the Module seeks to promote the participation of social partners and civil society organisations from Bulgaria and Central-Eastern Europe more generally in the EU social policy deliberation. The research component of the Module additionally maps out key areas and forms of the actors’ EU-level activism, providing information that is relevant both to scholars and policy practitioners.