This collection presents the main outcomes concerning social rights, active citizenship, and governance in the European Union, as presented at the final conference of the CINEFOGO Network of Excellence (Brussels, March 2009). The classic social question that has faced modern nation states since the 19th century has been coming back, in the changing contexts of globalization and European integration. Researchers have been involved in deepening the understanding of the role of civil society and new forms of governance in Europe and the making of European citizenship. They have been systematically studying political, legal, institutional, and economic conditions, as well as the different roles of various actors and institutions, the extent of their involvement in decision-making, and how their actions influence the changing human living conditions, including the actual accessibility of social rights to EU citizens. Different aspects of the structural changes to welfare states, and the ext