The European Social Model, involving high levels of government spending and taxation, labour and product market regulation and the involvement of the “social partners”, is in crisis. The core European economies are experiencing low economic growth, slow job creation and high levels of unemployment. In the longer term, demographic pressures are a serious concern. Faced with these problems, economists argue for reform but politicians find this difficult and the European Union is in political crisis. This article explores these issues and suggests that the answers lie at national rather than EU level.

Internationalisation of higher education is too often treated as an issue for universities and national governments alone. The expansion of trade in HE services is part of a wider picture. The demand for liberalisation of world trade in all types of services has led to the creation of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). This article outlines the GATS processes, notes the scale of trade in higher education and considers the existence of barriers to its further expansion. The case for and against greater liberalisation is discussed, concluding that issues raised by GATS will not go away and are likely increasingly to affect the domestic HE agenda.