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Avatar photoMassimiliano Mascherini

Massimiliano Mascherini Is head of the social policies unit at Eurofound, having joined the organisation in 2009 as a research manager. He has a PhD in applied statistics from the University of Florence and has been a visiting fellow at the University of Sydney and Aalborg University.

Trust in crisis: Europe’s social contract under threat

Massimiliano Mascherini

The corrosion of trust underlies many of the social pathologies of today—but there are solutions.

Covid-19 fallout takes higher toll on women

Massimiliano Mascherini and Martina Bisello

While women appear to be more resilient than men to Covid-19 in terms of health outcomes, that is not the case when it comes to the economic and social fallout.

History repeating itself? The impact of the Covid-19 crisis on youth

Massimiliano Mascherini and Eszter Sandor

Young people are anxious about the effects of the crisis yet also more trusting in the European Union—an asset which should not be squandered.

Long-Term Unemployed Youth: The Legacy Of The Crisis

Massimiliano Mascherini

A decade on from the financial crisis and Europe is finally on a stable path towards recovery, with growing economies and robust improvements in labour

Reducing Europe’s Gender Employment Gap

Massimiliano Mascherini

One of the common values that unites the European Union is that of equal opportunities: all citizens should have the same possibility to improve their

The Youth Guarantee One Year On: Lessons Learned

Massimiliano Mascherini

In 2013, youth unemployment rates in Europe reached the highest level ever recorded in the history of the EU and in the majority of the

Young Entrepreneurs In Europe: Values, Attitudes And Policies

Massimiliano Mascherini

Where is Europe’s Mark Zuckerberg? While half of young people strive for and want a career as an entrepreneur, research shows that only 6.5% of

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Progressive Post Issues

The Autumn-Winter issue of The Progressive Post is out!”

Among this issue’s highlights, we debate war and defence, underlining the urgent necessity of peace. We look at the European Commission's budget proposal, particularly the fate of the cohesion funds, and at the EU's international partnerships and ask whether the EU can pursue its strategic interests while simultaneously promoting its partners' genuine development. Finally, we address COP30 and the issue of fossil fuels, which was intentionally ignored during the negotiations held in Brazil.

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WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the European Minimum Wage Directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50% of the average wage.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

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Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity

Cohesion Policy seeks to foster balanced development and reduce economic, social, and territorial disparities, focusing on rural areas, regions in industrial transition, and those with severe or permanent natural or demographic disadvantages, including outermost, sparsely populated, island, cross-border, and mountain regions.

READ THE PAPER HERE

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Health

🇪🇺 Building a Resilient, Equitable EU Health Union: The S&D Blueprint


From securing pharmaceutical autonomy and guaranteeing universal access to care (the European Health Guarantee) to combatting non-communicable diseases and closing the Gender Health Gap. Read the S&D Group in the European Parliament Position Paper demanding that health becomes a priority across all EU policies.

READ THE POSITION PAPER

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HESA Magazine Cover

Revisiting worker representation on boards

Board-level employee representation (BLER) has repeatedly resurfaced in times of crisis — from the 2008 financial crash to the Covid-19 pandemic — as a response to mismanagement and democratic erosion. Yet codetermination remains unevenly spread across the EU and underdeveloped within EU industrial relations. This ETUI volume revisits worker representation on company boards by shifting the focus beyond the usual German-centred lens and exploring debates, practices and social partners’ positions in ten often-overlooked EU Member States, to assess the prospects for such an institution to thrive in national social policy.

READ HERE

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Mental Health
Eurofound Talks: Europe's productivity paradox

This episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast looks at why Europe has experienced a more profound slowdown in growth compared to other developed regions, and why greater labour input and higher human capital has not translated into higher output per worker. Mary McCaughey and John Hurley also discuss whether Europe can, and should, look to compete with countries such as the United States and China in the race to harness artificial intelligence.
LISTEN HERE

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