and steel resources could be pooled between ‘the Six’ countries, thus creating
the basis for a greater common market. With the Treaty of Rome in 1957, ‘the
Six’ agreed the framework for a more comprehensive European Economic
Community (EEC). With the EEC started a colossal endeavour to harmonise
policies, touching areas of indirect taxation, regulation, border control, agri-
culture and fisheries, as well as monetary matters. In 1973, Denmark, Ireland
and the United Kingdom (UK) joined the EEC. They were followed by Greece
in 1981, Portugal and Spain in 1986. In 1987, the Europe of ‘the Twelve’ signed
the Single European Act. This came into force on 1 January 1993, creating for
the first time a single market, which enabled the free movement of goods, ser-
vices and people. The EEC became the European Union (EU), with significant
implications for HRM.
Following German reunification in 1990, the EEC enlarged to include
the former East Germany. Later, in 1995, Austria, Finland and Sweden joined
the EU, creating a ‘Europe of Fifteen’. The EU-15 comprises more than
375 million citizens (compared to around 280 million in the US), over an
area of 3,191,000 square km (compared to 9,159,115 square km for the US)
(EIU Viewswire, 2002). Economically, it is one of the powerhouses of the
world.
An important historical step was taken on 1 January 2002 with the intro-
duction of a single currency, the Euro, across the EU (with the exception of
Denmark, Sweden and the UK). This economic union has been accompanied
by a desire to create and strengthen political and institutional co-ordination
across the member states (the European Parliament, the European Court of
Justice) and above all by a growing sense of European identity amongst EU cit-
izens. The EU Charter of Fundamental Social Rights, established in 1989, (see
Table 7.1) is but one manifestation of this.
Towards European HRMThe establishment of the EU and the Charter have had significant implications
for employing organisations and for HRM. As elsewhere, HRM in Europe is in
transition but the circumstances here are unparalleled in history. There is a
question about whether a distinct European HRM culture is in the making. In
anticipation of the creation of the single European market, prior to 1993,
organisations were beginning to review their strategies to take advantage of the
markets, freed from border tariffs, which were going to open before them. The
1990s witnessed an unprecedented number of mergers and acquisitions in
Europe as organisations sought to develop an integrated Europe (see Chapter 4).
This led HRM professionals across the different countries to start conversations:
first, to map what practices prevailed at the national and industry level
(Brewster et al., 2001); and second, to find common ground for European HRM
policy. Communal (1999) reports such conversations between Swedish and
HRM in Europe 169