International Social Security Standards in the European Union

Within the European Union, social security basically remains a national field of competence. The lack of common norms has paved the way for a large disparity in social protection between EU Member States, which is not conducive to the European single market. Moreover, it may lead to an increase in poverty and social exclusion and intensify economic competition between Member States. At the same time, almost all EU Member States are bound by one or more international social security instruments developed by the ILO and by the Council of Europe. This book analyses the international standards, followed by the case studies of the Czech Republic and Estonia.