Sammendrag
Drawing on the theory of Risse and Van de Steeg (2003) and Koopmans (2004), this thesis finds some few indications of Europeanisation occurring in the welfare debates in Sweden from 1995 to 2005 and in France from 2000 to 2005. The most contentious issues within the welfare debates proved to be more Europeanised than the general debate. Signs that a Western European community of communication emerged were found in the discussion on the EU Constitutional Treaty and the French referendum that took place within the welfare debate. Moreover, based on Bartolini (2005) and on the assumption that European integration changes the welfare debates, this thesis also provides data confirming the hypothesis that a new cleavage line emerged in the welfare debates in the period of study. The cleavage is based on a European dimension that became politicised into the three groups of Welfare-Europeans, Welfare-Nationalists and Neoliberal Europeans.