The Role of Social Work in the European Integration Process: The Influence on the Intensity of Social Trust

Doi: https://doi.org/10.58603/USDG2610

Abstract: European integration is a complex process primarily because of the multitude and variety of ways in which it is achieved. In reality, European integration is not an option for the countries that are part of European social environment. In other words, a society-nation that is part of the European Union, by the very acceptance of membership, has assumed the effectiveness of European integration. The consequences of not honouring this contract are felt throughout the European social area and manifest themselves as forces that are inimical to social and economic development in the European Union. European integration is linked with social trust and how it manifests itself in the various national societies of the European Union. Social trust is a belief in the honesty, integrity and reliability of others - a “faith in people”. (Cary Funk, 2007). We try to answer the question whether there is a determining relationship between social trust and European integration, whether we have a one-way or two-ways causal relationship. The phenomenon of social trust is based on the most diverse motivations, which is why we have introduced social work activities as an explanatory factor and a possible form of trust cultivation. Social work is a professional field that is mainly oriented towards the knowledge and improvement of serious problems facing a society. The basic hypothesis of this study is that social trust is based on people's confidence in the possibilities of solving or ameliorating social problems. In the end, this material succeeds in arguing the need for monitoring and the need to stimulate social trust in the European Union.