After the Midterms, America’s Pessimists Hold the Key to 2028
Hannah Tyler and Marlies Murray
Politicians score minus 55 with blue-collar voters, a new survey finds. Distrust, alienation, and pessimism will shape the coming elections.
Europe’s Defence Surge Will Squeeze Social Spending Once the Escape Clause Expires
Eighteen states have activated the escape clause; the growth payoff of additional defence spending is small and the bill lands in 2029.
Europe’s Made in Europe Label Shuts Out Morocco and Turkey
Since 1995 the EU has promised the Mediterranean shared prosperity; the Industrial Accelerator Act forgets that pledge.
Beyond 1.5°C: Putting people at the heart of policy
Even with every national plan delivered, global temperatures are set to exceed the 1.5°C threshold within the next few years. Policy speed now decides the damage.
Europe’s Teenagers Want Care Careers, Just Not the Ones Europe Needs Most
Joanna Sikora and Jerry A. Jacobs
PISA data on a million 15-year-olds show that, in many countries, over 90 per cent of care-minded teenagers expect professional jobs.
Unpaid Work in the AI Age
Americans spend six working days annually navigating government bureaucracy, a burden that AI could help ease.
Parliament Has Spoken: The Commission Must Now Regulate Psychosocial Risks
After a 413-to-210 vote for binding EU rules on psychosocial risks, stress and mental health at work, the Commission has three months to respond.
Burnout: Parliament Puts the Commission to the Test
Estelle Ceulemans’s report would make burnout an occupational disease and strengthen workers’ right to switch off.
Humans Are Abandoning the Body Just as AI Learns to Live Without One
Young people shun sex while OpenAI’s agents break out of their sandboxes: both sides are shedding the body.
Spain’s Housing Crisis Is a Concentration Crisis
Joan Pedro-Carañana, Toby Miller and Ana S. Andrés
Only 4.9 per cent of Spaniards collect rent, yet multi-property landlords own over half the homes individuals let.
After the AI Bubble Bursts
Lenders slice data-centre loans into tranches and sell them on, yet nobody knows who holds them.
Measuring the Right Things Reveals a Stronger Europe
Magalí Brosio and Enrico Giovannini
The EU’s wellbeing index rose 9.5 points between 2010 and 2023, against 1.2 for the United States.
Trump’s Latest Gift to Putin
Ukrainians risk their lives to refuel as Washington blames them for fuel costs driven by Trump’s war.
The EU Needs Dedicated Capacity to Track AI’s Impact on Jobs
Samuel Goodger and Dora Wierzbicka
A Brussels workshop ranked the signals Europe must track, from junior vacancies to the labour share of GDP.
France’s Student Revolt Exposes a State That Cannot Provide but Can Police
Over 5,000 arrests in three weeks reveal a republic quicker to discipline teenagers than to teach them.
More opinion and analysis
- Europe Must Turn Its Green Transition Into Green Power
- Workers Are Not Europe’s Cost Problem
- Voters Want AI Regulated for Jobs, Not Just Safety
- Europe’s Restraint Makes Trump’s Tariffs Pay
- AI Now Scores Every Call, and Workers Cannot See the Rules
- Narrow Metrics Teach AI Agents to Cheat, Hack, and Flatter
- Who benefits from AI depends on how it is governed
- Platform Work in Italy Has Become a Trap for the Vulnerable
- Europe Already Has a Weapon to Shield the ICC From Trump
- Climate Plans Need Workers, Not Just Disclosure
- Europe’s AI Divide Is Already an Enlargement Problem
- Austria’s Headscarf Ban Shows What Happens When Law Replaces Integration
- Mirafiori’s Restart Exposes the Blind Spot in Europe’s Industrial Policy
- Iceland Needs the EU as a Political Project, Not a Market