Ideas, business, and social policy: Insights from European Union employers’ organisations

This article seeks to advance our understanding of how business organisations articulate ideas about welfare policy – an aspect that remains underexplored in existing research. It does so by focusing on the European Union (EU) level, where social dialogue initiatives have spread since the 1980s. It looks at the three cross-sectoral EU employers’ organisations (EEOs) – the Confederation of European Business (BusinessEurope), Services of General Interest Europe (SGI Europe), and the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEunited) – and their positions across four social policy areas: pensions, vocational education and training (VET), labour market, and work–family reconciliation. Empirical material is drawn from position papers and semi-structured interviews with key organisational actors. The findings reveal a consistent neo-liberal and national orientation. Cost-containment is prioritised over increased social spending, and social investment is emphasised over social protection. EEOs support a soft regulatory role for the EU, with subsidiarity as a guiding principle. Their opposition to binding EU regulation reflects a broader preference for nationally driven policies that accommodate diverse member state contexts.