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Protesters and police clash during a demonstration with flags and banners.

Social Democrats Cannot Sit Out the Culture War Any Longer

Jonathan Menge

As the far right reshapes democracy, progressives from Berlin to Washington must decide whether cultural struggle beats technocratic caution.

Illustration of a dam with a European Union emblem, symbolising funding and economic power.

Europe’s Ultra-Rich Could Fund a Substantial Part of the EU’s Budget

Philipp Heimberger and Bernhard Schütz

Taxes on wealth, crypto and financial trades could raise billions no single member state can collect alone.

Illustration of missiles targeting social and political institutions in Europe.

The Case Against Trading Europe’s Welfare State for Warfare

Anton Hemerijck and Sven Schreurs

A decade of evidence shows Europe's welfare state drives growth – making calls to cut it for rearmament self-defeating.

Illustration of manufacturing steps from shop to digital innovation.

How I Became a Manufacturing Skeptic

Dani Rodrik

The industrialization-led growth model is faltering. Developing economies' best hope now lies in raising productivity across labour-absorbing services.

Illustration of justice scales weighing pills and a globe with two professionals.

Europe’s Drug War Punishes the Poor and Spares the Powerful

Salvador Santino Regilme

As welfare provision retreats, European states police the marginalised while laundering networks and corporate enablers escape scrutiny.

Stylised portrait of a man with city buildings in the background.

Péter Magyar Defeated Orbán on Nationalist Ground

Zsolt Enyedi

In Budapest, Magyar took back the flag — and showed Europe how to beat the far right.

Modern industrial factory with solar panels and storage tanks.

The Industrial Accelerator Act Is Too Weak, Not Too Protectionist

Ludovic Voet

Bruegel wants the EU to drop its manufacturing target and trust the market China spent decades engineering.

Illustration of a flood affecting a city with cars and a boat.

Germany’s Seventh Year of Stagnation Exposes a Missing Strategy

Peter Bofinger

Berlin's new growth package and pension overhaul dodge the real problem: the collapse of corporate investment and innovation.

City skyline with wind turbines and solar panels at sunset.

The Climate Consensus of 2019 Is Gone — Europe Needs a New One

Susi Dennison

The Commission's upcoming proposals on carbon markets and electrification will signal whether Europe still means to decarbonise.

Person analyzing financial data on a smartphone during a sports event.

FIFA Has Made World Cup Tickets a Financial Instrument

Ilan Kapoor

Ghost tickets, surge pricing, and resale fees reveal how football’s biggest event now profits from its own fans.

People walking across a mountain bridge with Swiss and EU flags in the background.

Switzerland Votes Down a Xenophobic Initiative — Thanks to the Unions

Roland Erne

A decades-long union campaign on wage protection helped Swiss voters bury the SVP's population cap and keep the EU door open.

European politician standing at an ornate door with stars on the floor.

Open Letter to Manfred Weber

Nicolas Schmit

Dear Mr Weber, You are European, but also German. One should be entitled to expect from you a particular understanding of history. In recent months,

Illustration of workers in a circular economy with renewable energy and recycling.

Europe’s Circular Economy Must Be Built for Workers, Not Just Resources

Judith Kirton-Darling, Philippe Pochet and Laurent Standaert

Brussels wants to double recycling by 2030, but efficiency targets alone cannot build a fairer, more resilient economy.

Illustration of economic reforms with carrots, gears, and government buildings in Europe.

Incentives Beat Threats: Europe’s Quiet Reform Breakthrough

Igor Guardiancich, Mattia Guidi, Enrico Borghetto and Lucia Quaglia

NextGenerationEU exposed an awkward truth: governments reform faster when Brussels offers cash than when it threatens punishment.

Illustration of global trade with ships, planes, and infrastructure.

Hyperglobalization 2.0: Why AI Has Not Slowed the World Down

Nicolás M. Perrone

Trade wars suggest deglobalisation, but the AI race is wiring the world together at unprecedented speed.

Illustration of a hand giving coins to a factory, with rising bar graphs and coins.

Europe’s Largest Companies Now Lend More Than They Invest

Mariana Mazzucato

Europe drowns in cheap capital yet starves for investment — because its biggest firms now lend rather than build.

High-voltage power lines silhouetted against a sunset sky.

Why Solar Grids, Not American LNG, Should Power Europe Next

Jeffrey Sommers, Daniel Pop and Cosmin Marian

A southern-solar, north-south grid offers Europe an escape from both Russian gas and overpriced American LNG.

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S&D Group in the European Parliament Advertisement

S&D Housing Storytelling

Europeans are struggling with rising housing and rental costs, and we have been working in various ways to address this, because we believe a home is a right for everyone.
 Recently, we travelled across Europe to hear directly from people who struggle to afford a decent place to live. They shared a glimpse of how the housing crisis has affected their lives and why having a home is so important to them. Take a moment to check out their stories. They remind us why it is so urgent to act.

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ETUI Advertisement

New Edition - Social policy in the European Union: state of play 2025

Can Europe preserve its distinctive social model while simultaneously rearming, reindustrialising, and reorganising its economy in a more conflictual and competitive world? This is the central question raised in this new edition of the Bilan social, a reference publication released every spring for more than 25 years by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and the European Social Observatory (OSE).

READ HERE
Eurofound Advertisement

Is financial resilience and trust in Europe faltering?

In this episode of Eurofound Talks, host Mary McCaughey and senior researcher Eszter Sandor unpack the results of the 2025 Living and Working in the EU e-survey. While headline inflation has stabilised at 2.1%, the data reveals a continent gripped by chronic precariousness, with 57% of respondents now at risk of depression. Mary and Eszter explore how this economic insecurity is impacting institutional trust and democratic engagement.

LISTEN HERE
FEPS Advertisement

The Summer issue of The Progressive Post is out! 

The EU is belatedly awakening to a changing Mediterranean sea, where more assertive regional powers are reclaiming a role.

The new issue of the magazine also reflects on how we struggle to keep pace with AI innovations, examines the uncertainties surrounding the execution of the Pact on Migration and Asylum and the risk to human rights posed by the Return Regulation, and focuses on the EU Commission's newly proposed Industrial Accelerator Act.

READ THE MAGAZINE
Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

Climate policy measures are often met with feelings of powerlessness and disempowerment, triggering fears and resentment. This blog series asks: What does a socially just climate transition look like? How can we create acceptance for just climate policies? 

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FES Advertisement

“What is the actual purpose of the state?” – this central question is the focus of the analysis. At a time when bureaucratic processes are making life difficult for citizens, the paper proposes a three-part model. It aims at a conception of the state as a platform that helps society build the capabilities it needs to address its problems effectively.

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