New research from anti-extremism charities reveals ‘unexpected patterns’ of opinions towards feminism across Europe.
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Germany must reduce its current-account surplus
Germany’s sustained current-account surplus is not only bad for others in Europe and beyond—it is bad for almost all Germans too.
Bitcoin lacks a unique selling proposition
Peter Bofinger identifies the cryptocurrency’s Achilles heel.
The false scarcity of vaccine trade tensions
The row over the EU introducing vaccine export controls has occluded its rejection of a temporary waiver on intellectual property rights.
Europe’s ‘long-Covid’ economic frailty
Last year’s agreement on an EU recovery package was widely celebrated. This year its inadequacy will sink in.
Spain: more stable employment contracts
The Supreme Court has modified its jurisprudence on subcontracting, limiting the scope for abuse of temporary contracts.
Politics
Inequalities and democratic corrosion
The right question to ask is not if inequality threatens democracy but which inequalities matter.
The crisis after the crisis
The best-governed industrialised countries were better prepared for the pandemic shock. But even the best are not ready for what is to come.
The four ‘I’s of a new socio-ecological contract
A ‘socio-ecological contract’ has emerged as a way to conceive the transitions needed to steer out of today’s crises to safer harbour. What does it entail?
Germany’s proposed supply-chain law—a glass half-empty
In drafting a law regulating supply chains Germany surrendered to the business lobby. The EU must not do the same.
Economy
Europe could make good use of a new SDR allocation
Jayati Ghosh begins a new Social Europe column by pricking Europe’s conscience on its pandemic-related responsibilities towards the developing world.
UK gig drivers recognised as workers—what next?
The UK’s highest court has delivered another benchmark judgment on gig workers. But the battle is not over.
Covid-19: a tale of two service sectors
If the 2008 crash brought on a ‘mancession’ of lost jobs, the sectors most hit by the pandemic employ mainly low-paid women workers.
Germany adds to recognition of platform workers
The Federal Labour Court ruled late last year that a crowdworker was indeed an employee, despite the platform’s contrary claim.
Gig workers: guinea pigs of the new world of work
Most discussion of gig workers has focused on their material insecurity. More attention also needs to be paid to what goes on in their heads.
Society
Don’t defund the BBC
Rather than public institutions being limited to fixing market failures, organisations such as the BBC are also market shapers.
Making EU regulation better for all
The stigma attached to democratic EU regulation by the ‘one in, one out’ approach must be replaced by a positive commitment to the common good.
Aligning the social pillar with human rights
The Action Plan of the European Pillar of Social Rights could lead to a profound shift in the enjoyment of human rights in the EU.
EU credibility as a people’s union rests on the social pillar
Buffeted by the pandemic and by populism, the EU needs the European Pillar of Social Rights to become a solid anchor of security for all.
Ecology
Leaving behind the EU’s deadly addiction to deregulation
Better regulation is benevolent and participatory, cognisant of complexity and future-oriented. Deregulation it is not.
Managing the unavoidable impact of climate change
While doing all it can to arrest climate change, the EU must place workers and their concerns at the heart of its adaptation strategy.
Can we change the climate on climate change?
Karin Pettersson is impressed by a fictional account of the existential challenge humanity faces.
Ursula von der Leyen’s mission ‘to the moon’
The European Green Deal rests on the commitment of the 27 member states. The fate of the renewable-energy directive shows the scale of that challenge.
