EU concerned by Ukraine’s controversial labour reforms
The European Union says Ukraine’s reforms must follow international labour standards and social-dialogue principles.
Society
What’s driving the social crisis in France
The huge demonstrations against the pension ‘reform’ stem from accumulating resentment under Emmanuel Macron.
Sustainable competitiveness needs a social dimension
Glancing across the Atlantic, austerity and deregulation will make Europe neither competitive nor green.
How the banking lobby diluted EU regulation
EU institutions have taken a position weakening international standards and risking bank stability.
When radical zealotry meets the polarising populists
Some activist-scholars, Eszter Kováts writes, have turned social justice into a latter-day religion, with perverse effects.
Workforce strategy the priority in social care
Training the workforce is central to attracting and retaining staff in quality social care.
How Putin’s narratives have survived reality checks
Over 12 months of conflict, the Kremlin has relied on its tried and tested disinformation playbook.
The only way to end the war
The EU must not only ensure that Ukraine can attain a just and lasting peace but support the embedding of universal norms.
Pandemic preparedness: new vaccines are not enough
Rapid deployment of vaccines is the key lesson being taken from the Covid-19 pandemic. It should not be the only one.
Platforms and their presumptions of power
Whether the presumption of employment would mean an end to self-employment for platform workers is a false debate.
Social dialogue: still a fuzzy conversation
The European Commission remains ambivalent on involvement of the social partners in political decision-making.
The European Union at war
How can a civilian power such as the EU, Jan Zielonka asks, contend with uncivilised behaviour?
Asylum: the EU’s misplaced moral compass
The measures taken by the EU on asylum should be guided by a lawful and sincere humanitarianism.
‘You mean the prison?’: displaced people on Samos
The warehousing of asylum-seekers behind barbed wire encapsulates where ‘protecting borders’ leads.
Belarusian trade unionists take refuge in Germany
Exiled trade unionists continue their work, hoping to return to Belarus one day to rebuild their society.
Turkey-Syria earthquake: scandal of being unprepared
Builders had been allowed to pay a ‘construction amnesty’ for breaches of tighter codes introduced after the 1999 earthquake.
The global AI race—it’s time to slow down
The world’s largest companies cannot be given free rein in their competition to capitalise artificial intelligence.
Can the west woo Africa?
The west’s lack of engagement with Africa in recent years left behind a vacuum China and Russia have eagerly filled.
Conspiracies, detachment and confusion in Russia
Almost a year into the war in Ukraine, Russians seem to be seeking ways to distance themselves from the state.