In the European Union a debate is ongoing about the Europeanization of contract law However its impact on the different welfare states types as they are developed in political science has not been discussed elaborately Nearly all Member States of the EU can be characterized as a welfare state or maybe post welfare state There are many definitions and descriptions of the welfare state It is generally accepted that social citizenship is a common characteristic of the welfare states in the EU Another characteristic is that they are capitalist economies in a global economy in which a service industry prevails This book contains the papers presented at a workshop held at the Free University of Amsterdam which explores the potential of applying the political science theory of the welfare state types to contract law
