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Avatar photoClaes-Mikael Ståhl

Claes-Mikael Ståhl (cmstahl@etuc.org) has been deputy general secretary at the European Trade Union Confederation since September 2021. He deals primarily with social dialogue, trade and standardisation.

Democracy Under Siege: Trade Unions Rise as a Bulwark Against the Far Right

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

Trade unions are poised to defend the institutions that bind society together.

Calling Time on 24/7 Work Connectivity

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

The rapid development of new technologies is increasing pressure and forcing unlimited working time and growing stress among many workers across Europe. 

Social dialogue: defending democracy in practice

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

In the face of the threat from the far right, trade unions represent democracy’s strongest supporters.

Democracy must set the standard

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

Standardisation of how artificial intelligence is deployed in the workplace is not a technical but a political matter.

Democracy at work and in society: populist antidote

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

Trade unions and other civil-society organisations are key to fending off the threat from the far right.

Time to recognise a fifth EU freedom: solidarity

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

Tesla’s confrontation with Swedish workers highlights how solidarity must be enabled in a globalised Europe.

EU funds need stronger social conditionality

Claes-Mikael Ståhl, Judith Kirton-Darling, Jan Willem Goudriaan, Kristjan Bragason and Oliver Roethig

The rules for allocation of EU funds should be more transparent and provide a meaningful role for the social partners.

Stress at work: countering Europe’s new pandemic

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

Occupational stress has become endemic. It damages workers, their families, businesses and economies.

Social dialogue must be at the heart of Europe’s future

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

This week the European Commission will publish a proposal to revivify social dialogue. It must be more than words.

Health and safety: Europe’s patchy commitment

Claes-Mikael Ståhl and Owen Tudor

The European Union must stop compromising on the fundamental right of workers to health and safety.

Labour shortages offer trade unions valuable opportunity

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

A ‘tight’ labour market is not such a bad thing for trade unions—and therefore for workers.

Sanctions on Russia: the next phase

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

Sanctions have so far been economic and short-term. The long-term goal of political freedom in Russia must be kept in mind.

Cutting workplace accidents and diseases to zero

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

The pandemic has focused attention on health and safety. But workers were already dying just trying to make a living.

EU strategic autonomy must mean fairer trade

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

If ‘strategic autonomy’ is to define the EU’s relation to the world, linked trade deals must not mean dependence for workers.

Aiming for a revolution in world trade

Claes-Mikael Ståhl

In the neoliberal era, global trade deals have come at the expense of workers. That can and must be reversed.

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.

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FEPS Advertisement

Read the book "The open future and its enemies" 

A robust democracy must not leave the future in the hands of the alliance between Big Tech and the far right. AI must be politically reined in and democratically shaped so that humanity retains its sovereignty.

Artificial intelligence is regarded as the driving force of progress. Yet it has long since become a challenge to democracy. The book argues that uncontrolled AI will erode our freedom, self-determination and democracy.

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Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2026

Minimum wage policy across Europe has shifted significantly, with many EU countries raising wages above average and anchoring them to adequate living standards. This trend is consolidating as countries increasingly adopt the reference values recommended in the European Minimum Wage Directive — recently upheld by the European Court of Justice.

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S&D Group in the European Parliament Advertisement

S&D Africa Days 2026

We are pleased to invite you to save the date for the S&D Africa Days 2026, taking place on 30 June and 1 July 2026, in Brussels. 

At a time when Africa is too often viewed through narrow and one-sided narratives, this initiative reflects a key political priority for the S&D Group: to advance a renewed, forward-looking partnership of equals between Europe and Africa based on equality, solidarity, social justice and shared progress. 

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ETUI Advertisement

A more strategic Europe? Risks and opportunities for the world of work

Europe’s ambition to achieve strategic autonomy is at risk of being undermined from within, according to the annual flagship report by the ETUI and the ETUC. Despite signs of macroeconomic resilience, weakening investment, stalled decarbonisation and growing labour market fragilities are eroding the very foundations on which Europe’s power depends. Once again, the Benchmarking Working Europe 2026 report stands out as an invaluable resource, providing a comprehensive set of indicators illustrated through more than 60 graphs and tables, with analysis from ETUI researchers.

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