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Avatar photoPaul Sweeney

Paul Sweeney was chief economist with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions for a decade.

Ireland, the EU and the Apple tax case

Paul Sweeney

Ireland led the ‘race to the bottom’ on corporate taxation. The tide is beginning to turn.

The IRA and European industrial policy

Paul Sweeney

With the US turning interventionist, the EU will look foolish still backing ‘free markets’. Time for an enterprise policy.

From ‘free-market’ to subsidised capitalism

Paul Sweeney

To deal with the climate crisis, governments must recognise that only the state has allowed the last three crises to be contained.

Inflation in the strongest recovery since 1945

Paul Sweeney

Governments should ignore siren warnings that only hyperinflation can come from pandemic-induced investments.

An effective corporation-tax system for the EU

Paul Sweeney

Tax wars have so far denied the EU the unanimity required to stop the race to the bottom on corporation tax.

Ireland’s recovery: from bust to buoyancy … to Brexit?

Paul Sweeney

If procyclical domestic policies inflated Ireland’s economic bubble, procyclical austerity demanded by the troika which bailed it out makes Ireland’s recovery all the more remarkable.

Ireland’s route from boom to bubble to bust

Paul Sweeney

Ireland’s volatile economic path of recent decades has wider European policy implications. Part one: the ‘Celtic Tiger’ and its demise

The Collapse Of European Social Democracy, Part 2

Paul Sweeney

In the first part of his analysis Paul Sweeney pointed to a variety of causes behind the decline of social democracy over the past 30

The Collapse Of European Social Democracy, Part 1

Paul Sweeney

Introduction Social Democracy (SD) has been the most powerful political force in Europe since the Second World War. It turned the nation state into the

What Hope For Civilisation If Apple Pays No Tax?

Paul Sweeney

Brussels has been accused of “bending the rules” in its pursuit of Apple for €13 billion in taxes it says should have been paid in

On Apple Tax, State Must Side With Its Citizens

Paul Sweeney

It is widely agreed that globalisation has brought immense benefits. But it is also recognised that these benefits are not equally distributed. Last week’s Apple

Curbing Tax Avoidance, Tax Evasion And Tax Havens

Paul Sweeney

The aggressive tax avoidance by multinational corporations (MNCs) where they are now paying virtually no tax was highlighted recently by the takeover of “Irish” company Allergan

How Globalisation And Technology Drive Insecurity

Paul Sweeney

People are insecure. Young people worry about getting a decent job, finding a secure home and having to pay off the vast debts run up

My Experience With The Troika In Ireland

Paul Sweeney

The day the Troika came to town was a dark day for the Irish. Troika is a Russian word meaning a sled drawn by three

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New Edition - Social policy in the European Union: state of play 2025

Can Europe preserve its distinctive social model while simultaneously rearming, reindustrialising, and reorganising its economy in a more conflictual and competitive world? This is the central question raised in this new edition of the Bilan social, a reference publication released every spring for more than 25 years by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and the European Social Observatory (OSE).

READ HERE
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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.

LISTEN HERE
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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.

READ THE BOOK
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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 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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“What is the actual purpose of the state?” – this central question is the focus of the analysis. At a time when bureaucratic processes are making life difficult for citizens, the paper proposes a three-part model. It aims at a conception of the state as a platform that helps society build the capabilities it needs to address its problems effectively.

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