EU Minimum Wage Directive Before the European Court of Justice: It’s Not All Over Now…
EU’s minimum wage directive is under threat.
Economy
Social Europe is an award-winning digital media publisher driven by the core values of freedom, sustainability, and equality. These principles guide our exploration of society’s most pressing challenges. This archive page curates Social Europe articles focused on economic issues, offering a rich resource for innovative thinking and informed debate.
How to break Europe’s innovation stasis
The new EU Commission must confront fragmented policies, revitalise competitiveness, and integrate security into its growth strategy.
How Europe’s fiscal rules are strangling growth
The 2024 Stability and Growth Pact reforms entrench austerity and stifle investment.
Limited options to change employers keep wages low
Concentrated labour markets and non-compete agreements erode worker bargaining power.
Industrial Policy: Key to Europe’s Role in a Shifting World Order
Europe can assume a greater role, but must uphold its ambitions and forge new partnerships.
EU pushes to reclassify platform workers, but how will platforms react?
The EU’s Platform Work Directive aims to end worker misclassification, but its success depends on platform compliance.
Can the EU Export Its Values? How ‘Social Europe’ Shapes Global Labour Standards
How the EU’s Social Europe model influences global labour standards through inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Are labour disputes here to stay?
Workers across Europe are increasingly dissatisfied with the increased cost of living which is often not matched by their payslips.
Why Haven’t Full-Time Workers Cut Hours Since the 1980s?
Full-time workers in Europe still clock the same hours as in the 1980s.
The High-Stakes Gamble of Doing Nothing: Why Business Must Act Now
In a world teetering on the edge of chaos, disengagement is a dangerous delusion. Here's why smart leaders know that stepping up.
Labour shortages – an opportunity to rebalance bargaining power?
Labour shortages have become one of the most pressing issues in the labour market across Europe.
Germany’s Minimum Wage Controversy: Will the EU Directive Be Enforced?
The EU pushes for a 60 per cent median wage standard—yet Germany resists. What’s at stake for fair wages?
Can the EU’s Tariffs on Chinese EVs Save Its Auto Industry?
EU imposes tariffs on Chinese EVs—but can this safeguard jobs and competitiveness, or must Europe rethink its clean tech strategy?
Why social investment holds the key to delivering on the Draghi report
A vast untapped potential for improving economic progress and social well-being across the EU needs to be unlocked through social investment.
Nobel Prize in Economics: Do Democracy and Prosperity Really Go Hand in Hand?
This year’s Nobel laureates link democracy to economic success, but their theory ignores autocratic growth and rehashes old ideas.
Industrial relations, work and climate change
Addressing the contradiction between economic growth and green transitions requires rethinking industrial relations.