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Avatar photoRobin Wilson

Robin Wilson (josephrobinsonwilson@gmail.eu) is an expert adviser to the Council of Europe on intercultural integration and was principal drafter of its model framework for national integration plans. He is the author of Meeting the Challenge of Cultural Diversity in Europe: Moving Beyond the Crisis (Edward Elgar).

Social Rights: The View from the Council of Europe

Alain Berset and Robin Wilson

During the High-level Conference on Social Rights this month in Chișinău, Alain Berset, secretary general of the Council of Europe, gave an exclusive interview to Social Europe.

Social Rights: The Idea Whose Time Has Come?

Robin Wilson

A remarkable consensus on social rights is emerging as Europe's answer to inequality, democratic backsliding and geopolitical upheaval.

The capacity to ‘compete’—rethinking the welfare state

Anton Hemerijck, Azizjon Bagadirov and Robin Wilson

Rather than a ‘burden on the taxpayer’, the welfare state should be understood in normative terms as productive social investment.

Social rights—securing Europe’s future

Robin Wilson

In Vilnius, at a high-level conference on the European Social Charter, it felt like a paradigm shift was taking place.

Asylum and migration: a positive alternative policy

Gesine Schwan and Robin Wilson

It’s time for a Gestalt shift from curbing ‘irregular’ migration to pursuing integration for mutual benefit.

Facing Europe’s huge challenges

Robin Wilson

The outlines of a new progressive narrative for Europe are emerging amid the smoke from forest fires and the war in Ukraine.

Impartiality and public-service media

Robin Wilson

The media storm in Britain around a television personality speaks volumes about why the UK has become a dysfunctional state.

Tackling the cost-of-living crisis

Robin Wilson

Inflation is a number. But addressing it is not just a technical issue, best left to (usually male) economists.

Brexit: why does Northern Ireland matter so much?

Robin Wilson

So little appears at stake in the Northern Ireland protocol yet it’s at the heart of the Brexit deadlock. But then it’s a proxy for something else.

Northern Ireland—the unhappy ending Europe’s story must avoid

Robin Wilson

Europe has always had its anti-enlightenment side. Northern Ireland graphically presents its extreme manifestation.

Universal Basic Income: a disarmingly simple idea—and fad

Robin Wilson

Universal basic income is a disarmingly simple idea based on a disarmingly simple premise. The digital revolution threatens massive technological unemployment; ergo, every citizen should

Social Europe Needs A Positive Vision

Robin Wilson

In his magisterial One Hundred Years of Socialism, Donald Sassoon described how, under the influence of the 19th century German leader Karl Kautsky, the European

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

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.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

European Commission DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion advertisement

Social Europe

The European Employment and Social Rights Forum was back in Brussels and online on 3-4 March 2026

This year’s edition addressed the EU’s response to the challenges many people face today: the rising cost of living, job insecurity, and changes in the labour market. Opinion leaders, policymakers, businesses, academics and civil society are invited to explore bold ideas to support Europe’s greatest strength: its people.

WATCH NOW

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

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

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

Growth and employment monitor

Based on recent research – notably from the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), this Special Brief outlines key evidence on the economic, employment and social situation in the EU and actions needed to reinforce the EU by ensuring “Investment for a vibrant European economy and quality jobs”

READ HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Mental Health
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

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

The Great Unravelling

Read the book "The Great Unravelling"

The book "The Great Unravelling", edited by Patrick Diamond and Ania Skrzypek, delves into the impact of growing economic interdependence, free trade and technological change, which has led to new forms of political polarisation that seek to capitalise on and exploit the resentments fuelled by the rise of globalisation.
Featuring a stellar line-up of policymakers, experts and academics, the book assesses whether a viable compromise between globalisation and social progress remains achievable.

READ HERE

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