During the first part of the fellowship year I have been mainly concentrated on the research work related to my project. Both academic and policy-oriented studies regarding labor relations and social dialogue in Central Eastern Europe as well as the European Union have been reviewed and included in the interim research paper. More precisely, the research consisted of:

• Obtaining and reviewing sources dealing with the development of social policy and, in particular, social dialogue at the European Union level. This part is largely focused on the relevant European Union legislation.
• Social policy requirements set for the applicant countries of Central Eastern Europe have been analyzed. In addition, actions undertaken by the European Union in order to ensure the transposition of the required legislation have been critically reviewed.
• A critical assessment of social dialogue, industrial relations practices, and the participation of social partners in the European Union accession process in the three examined cases – the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland - has been provided.
• A set of programs undertaken by both European Union and the European social partners with the objective of promoting social dialogue in Central Eastern Europe and bringing it in line with the European practices has been reviewed.
• A number of possible recommendations regarding the improvement of social dialogue in Central Eastern Europe (to be analyzed to a greater detail in the second part of the project) have been proposed.

In addition to this, the research has benefited by the participation at the 42^nd Annual Convention of the International Studies Association entitled International Relations and the New Inequality: Power, Wealth, and the Transformation of Global Society at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century that took place in Chicago, IL from February 20-24, 2001. Out of 468 different panels, a number of them has been focused on topics related to my project, namely social inclusion and exclusion; transformation of social policy and welfare state; European Union enlargement; effects of accession requirements on the applicant countries; and more broadly trade union politics in transition.

Finally, a number of contacts with trade union activists in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland has been established. These contacts will serve as the basis for interviews that I plan to undertake during the second part of the fellowship year.