About Stan De Spiegelaere

Stan De Spiegelaere is a researcher at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI).

It’s time to talk about democracy at work

by Stan De Spiegelaere on 22nd May 2019

Democracy at work has many benefits but above all it is a matter of human dignity.

An Unlikely Cure For Populism: Workplace Democracy

by Stan De Spiegelaere on 23rd April 2018

Trump in the White House, Orban in Hungary, the Law and Justice party in Poland, the AfD in Germany, Erdoğan in Turkey… It seems like the list of challenges to our democracies is worryingly extensive already. Time to act! And the area where one should act might surprise you: our companies. Democracy lives in the […]

Top Of The Christmas Wish List: A Working Time Reduction

by Stan De Spiegelaere on 22nd December 2017

In our family, Christmas means sending and receiving wish lists. This year, my cousin took a very honest approach and wished for (among other things) somebody to come and paint her house, a jacuzzi, a pony, and more free time. It didn’t help me much in my Christmas shopping, but it does highlight the fact […]

Do We Need Another Renault To Wake Us Up?

by Stan De Spiegelaere on 6th March 2017

Exactly 20 years ago today, the very first European-wide strike was organized. In all Renault plants workers suspended work for one hour in protest against the closure of the Vilvoorde factory. This gesture of transnational solidarity was made possible thanks to a then recent piece of experimental European legislation called ‘European Works Councils’ (EWCs). But […]

Let’s Give A New Boost To European Works Councils

by Stan De Spiegelaere on 12th July 2016

The social policy track record of the European Union is bleak at best. But in one field the EU did make a marked difference: in 1994 it agreed on the European Works Councils Directive. In multinational companies of a certain size, employee representatives from across Europe have since enjoyed the right to be informed and […]

At the beginning of the new EU legislative cycle, this occasional paper by Udo Bullmann (MEP and S&D Group coordinator in the European Parliament’s Development Committee) makes the case for an EU development policy that puts the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a concern for human well-being front and centre. The paper argues that EU development policy must serve to fight inequalities in partner countries to enable successful transformations in the spirit of the SDGs. Weaving a concern for achieving greater equality into the process of EU development policy-making, including through ex-ante assessment tools, is key in this regard.

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The Blocked Completion of the European Monetary Union

The reform of the euro zone is stuck. Against the background of political blockades, this report examines from a combined economic and political science perspective how the Euro can be prepared for the next crisis. The report first identifies general requirements for the stabilization of economic and monetary union. Next, the report reconstructs the political logic of the euro crisis and shows that the prospects for realizing far-reaching reform proposals aiming at a fiscal union are poor. Subsequently, the report develops a proposal of how, under the given circumstances, the room for maneuver within the existing framework of economic and monetary union can be extended in a pragmatic way in order to strengthen national fiscal policy as an instrument of macroeconomic stabilization.

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Migrant workers in Fortress Europe

The number of legally resident migrants stands at over 22 million, but the number of Europe’s “undocumented” migrants, whose status is precarious and whose rights in many areas are limited as a result, is much harder to determine. These migrants are often forced to tolerate adverse working conditions; since they are discriminated against in the labour market, both male and female migrant workers are pushed into low-skill industries and professions that are more hazardous to health and less well-paid than other jobs, a situation that is justified by racist stereotypes and assumptions. The goal of the HesaMag editorial team in compiling this report was to introduce readers to a number of real-life examples drawn from a variety of EU Member States.

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Challenges and prospects in the EU: Quality of life and public services

What have been the major developments in quality of life and public services in Europe in recent years? This flagship publication provides a synthesis of the main findings on several key topics, based, in part, on European Quality of Life Survey data. It maps developments and perceptions regarding the following: trust in institutions and social cohesion; access to and quality of health and care services; the impact of digitalisation on social services; access to services for young people; and measures aimed at integrating refugees. While the report highlights many challenges and emerging issues for public services, it also showcases a number of positive experiences with the involvement of client groups in the design of services and take-up of new technologies.

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