The Challenge: Functional Changes in Property Rights in Europe

At the dawn of the eastward enlargement of the European Union, once again it becomes obvious that ‘ownership is a historical, not a logical category’.1 The Western model of the welfare state is in a severe crisis2 and can no longer be maintained in its present form. At the same time, the Central and East European countries are trying various ways to integrate ]private ownership into the legal framework of a new post-socialist welfare state,3 or are at least trying to lighten the social burden of transition to a market economy.4 In this context, the role of property goes beyond the mere functional control of men over legal objects and nature; it assumes another dimension of property rights, that of social integration as an element of social stability, democracy, and economic justice.5