Put (Southern) Europe to workThe Nordic Turn of European Socialists in the early 1990s

Résumé En

This chapter illustrates how a small group of Nordic politicians and experts used the Party of European Socialists (PES) to Europeanise a Nordic approach to the social policy forged in the 1980s by the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP). It illustrates that the Larsson group seriously considered the numerous amendments suggested by Jacques Delors and his aides, thereby facilitating the Europeanisation of this Nordic socialist approach to employment policy. The chapter traces the developments that advanced the Nordicisation of the approach to employment policy within the PES. It then highlights the gradual Europeanisation of the Larsson report by way of the Delors cabinet. The Larsson group report was intended to strengthen and influence the imperatives of the European Commission – primarily voiced by Jacques Delors and his aides – regarding employment and the growth and competitiveness of European economy. Allan Larsson was able to rely on the influential socialist network that he had cultivated since serving as Minister of Finance.