Social scientific interest in "social Europe" pales in compar-ison with the attention that has been directed toward theeconomic and political dimensions of the European Union(EU). This is perhaps hardly surprising; for much of itsrelatively short history, the system that is today the EU hasbeen almost exclusively economic in its focus. Only since the1980s has the project of European integration acquired asignificant social dimension. Given this imbalance, RobertGeyer provides a welcome and timely addition to the litera-ture.