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English is constantly moving forward and consolidating its role as lingua franca in the European Union. At the same time the Union has 23 official languages and promotes around 150 regional or minority languages under its official motto United in diversity; expressing the view that each member state should promote its national language and identity simultaneously as their citizens are to feel like Europeans. This may be regarded as a contradiction in terms because diversity may undermine unity. In this paper we reach the opposite conclusion by investigating the relationship between language, identity and the process of European integration. Taking as a point of departure the fact that language is a crucial part of our identity, we argue that language as such does not have to be an obstacle to the development of ‘an ever closer Union’ in Europe if the general discourses are made transparent on each level of political decision making, i.e. the regional, national and supra-national level as this mai...

Taking as a point of departure the postulated political-ideological and fiscal ‘crisis of the welfare state’, this article emphasises recent changes in the relationship between the four sectors of welfare providers: the informal sector of the family or community; the for-profit sector — where social goods are offered by profit-seeking institutions; the formalised sector of voluntary organisations; and the public sector of statutory bodies. Discussion is concentrated on the changing relationship between the voluntary and public sectors. Are voluntary organisations able to cope with new and extensive welfare problems within a more decentralised welfare state? Do they express the values, and do they possess the resources that both governmental agencies and the organisations themselves take for granted?