National welfare states and European integration : in search of a "virtuous nesting”

In recent years the EU has been witnessing a growing tension between the logic of 'closure', which underpins national welfare systems, and the logic of 'opening', which guides the integration process, especially in the economic sphere. Are there ways of mitigating such tension, in order to avoid negative consequences in terms of performance and legitimacy? The article outlines a strategy of institutional reconciliation between the two logics, based on a more explicit and effective 'nesting' of the nation-based welfare state within the overall spatial architecture of the Union. While recognizing the important role played by free movement and competition rules, this nesting strategy entails the strengthening of an EU 'social space', capable of safeguarding the closure preconditions for multi-level social sharing arrangements.