Paul Mason finds in the UK’s foreign and defence review a wilful refusal of its natural European engagement.
Most popular

Putting the brakes on the spread of indecent work
by Ruth Dukes and Wolfgang Streeck on
Legal victories for workers against platform corporations remain partial and limited in the absence of legislative and institutional change.

Cancelling a debt we already own has a false allure
The proposal to cancel ECB-held sovereign debt is not the best riposte to the looming renewal of austerity.

Fewer Italians than Swedes hold anti-feminist views
by Tatev Hovhannisyan on
New research from anti-extremism charities reveals ‘unexpected patterns’ of opinions towards feminism across Europe.

Germany must reduce its current-account surplus
by Jan Behringer, Till van Treeck and Achim Truger on
Germany’s sustained current-account surplus is not only bad for others in Europe and beyond—it is bad for almost all Germans too.

The false scarcity of vaccine trade tensions
by Katie Gallogly-Swan on
The row over the EU introducing vaccine export controls has occluded its rejection of a temporary waiver on intellectual property rights.
Politics

Germany’s super-election year is a wild card
by Knut Dethlefsen on
With the federal government now perceived as mishandling the pandemic and corruption tainting the CDU, the autumn Bundestag election is one to watch.

Hungary’s Covid-19 wars
by Stephen Pogány on
For Viktor Orbán, the pandemic has offered an opportunity to undermine the European Union and curry favour with Hungary’s authoritarian allies.

It’s time to make women truly count
by Mariana Vieira da Silva, Franziska Giffey, Taina Bofferding and Tytti Tuppurainen on
As the UN Commission on the Status of Women convenes, social-democratic ministers for gender equality call on Europe to unite for women’s rights.

Lost an empire, not found a role
by Paul Mason on
Paul Mason finds in the UK’s foreign and defence review a wilful refusal of its natural European engagement.
Economy

Spain’s platform workers win algorithm transparency
By Ane Aranguiz
Legal amendments will not only recognise ‘riders’ as employees but require algorithm transparency from platforms generally.

Corporate-tax avoidance after the ‘double Irish’
After Ireland closed its notorious corporate-tax loophole, it might have been thought tax avoidance would have gone with it. Not so.

Putting the brakes on the spread of indecent work
By Ruth Dukes and Wolfgang Streeck
Legal victories for workers against platform corporations remain partial and limited in the absence of legislative and institutional change.

Cancelling a debt we already own has a false allure
The proposal to cancel ECB-held sovereign debt is not the best riposte to the looming renewal of austerity.
Society

Chop chop—could hairdressers restyle European social dialogue?
By Oliver Roethig and Dimitris Theodorakis
European social dialogue fell into desuetude under the neoliberal Barroso commission. Hairdressers might just put some colour back in it.

The pandemic one year on—revaluing our public services
By Mette Nord and Jan Willem Goudriaan
Covid-19 hit societies in Europe rendered frail by austerity. Investment in public services and their workers is essential if they are to recover.

‘Migrants’ moral panic still leading to lost lives
By Reanna Smith
The pandemic has overshadowed, but not reduced, refugee flows to Europe. Damaging misconceptions of asylum-seekers haven’t softened either.

Social pillar Action Plan—longer on aspiration
The Action Plan shows ambition on poverty, employment and training. But the concrete measures are not (yet) up to the task.
Ecology

Venturing the green transformation?
Under the European Green Deal, venture-capital firms are expected to play a vital investment role—one for which they are singularly ill-suited.

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
By Ludovic Voet
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.



