Article 151 [Objectives]

Article 151 TFEU, and in particular its last paragraph (harmonisation of social systems), has its precedent in the opening provision of Chapter 1 (“Social Provisions”) of Title III (“Social Policy”) of the EEC Treaty, that is, Article 117 TEEC. Indeed, the 1957 EEC Treaty contained a few provisions on social policy, which was conceived closely related to two important goals: free competition and worker mobility. In this regard, it has been noted that economic integration was the primary objective of the EEC and its predecessor, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), and the founding Treaties reflected this. In this sense, even the Treaties establishing the ECSC in 1952 and the EAEC in 1957 emphasised social policy more than the Treaty of Rome did. The reason for this is that because they referred to specific industries (coal, steel, nuclear energy), the ECSC and EAEC had fairly strong social policy mandates in order to deal with the employment and health effects of these rapidly changing industries. The ECSC had funds to deal with redundant workers, and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) was empowered to set health and safety standards.