Social Europe articles on politics

Social Europe is an award-winning digital media publisher that publishes content examining issues in politics, economy and employment & labour. This archive brings together Social Europe articles on political issues.

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

by Massimiliano Mascherini and Eszter Sandor on 25th May 2020

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.

The European Parliament and gender equality—a continuing struggle

by Petra Ahrens and Lise Rolandsen Agustín on 22nd May 2020

There has been progress in the numerical representation of women in the European Parliament. But that’s not enough to achieve gender equality.

Digital welfare states: boundaries and opportunities

by Sonja Bekker on 21st May 2020

A Dutch court case has set out a framework within which the emergent digital welfare state can respect the right to privacy.

Machine learning should increase human possibilities

by Elena Esposito on 21st May 2020

Sociologist Elena Esposito suggests shifting the focus of artificial intelligence to machines as communication partners. Interview by Florian Butollo.

A federal budget for European citzens

by Guido Montani on 20th May 2020

The proposal by the French president and the German chancellor for a €500 billion recovery fund refocuses attention on the EU budget—but that raises wider issues.

Brexit: deaths, more deaths … and no-deal calculations

by Paul Mason on 18th May 2020

In a nightmare-scenario ‘Brexit’ denouement, the UK government provokes no-deal chaos from which it hopes to profit after its Covid-19 shambles.

Health policy after the crisis: more of the same or a new path?

by Tamara Popic on 18th May 2020

Years of pre-crisis adhesion to ‘new public management’ in health policy have seen public provision eroded. Now is an opportunity to change course.

What when there’s a vaccine?

by Stuart Blume and Maurizia Mezza on 15th May 2020

Amid the accelerated scientific quest for a vaccine against the coronavirus, crucial ethical and social questions have not yet been addressed.

When machines think for us: consequences for work and place

by Judith Clifton, Amy Glasmeier and Mia Gray on 14th May 2020

The one sure way not to forecast the impact of artificial-intelligence technologies is technological determinism.

Robots won’t make us redundant

by Lars Klingbeil and Henning Meyer on 14th May 2020

Globalisation, digitalisation, artificial intelligence—it’s time to stop debating work in a fear-laden way.

Ensuring human rights and sustainability in company supply chains

by Isabelle Schömann and Claudia Saller on 12th May 2020

A proposal from the European Commission for a company duty on human rights and environmental due diligence is an important step to build upon.

Trade unions are key to a safe exit from the pandemic

by Luca Visentini on 12th May 2020

There can be no return to ‘business as usual’ after the crisis: the ‘new normal’ must entail a profound political and social transformation.

The Brexit endgame is upon us: deal or no deal, the transition period will end on January 1st. With a pandemic raging, for those countries most affected by Brexit the end of the transition could not come at a worse time. Yet, might the UK's withdrawal be a blessing in disguise? With its biggest veto player gone, might the European Pillar of Social Rights take centre stage? This book brings together leading experts in European politics and policy to examine social citizenship rights across the European continent in the wake of Brexit. Will member states see an enhanced social Europe or a race to the bottom?

'This book correctly emphasises the need to place the future of social rights in Europe front and centre in the post-Brexit debate, to move on from the economistic bias that has obscured our vision of a progressive social Europe.' Michael D Higgins, president of Ireland

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The macroeconomic effects of the EU recovery and resilience facility

This policy brief analyses the macroeconomic effects of the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). We present the basics of the RRF and then use the macroeconometric multi-country model NiGEM to analyse the facility's macroeconomic effects. The simulations show, first, that if the funds are in fact used to finance additional public investment (as intended), public capital stocks throughout the EU will increase markedly during the time of the RRF. Secondly, in some especially hard-hit southern European countries, the RRF would offset a significant share of the output lost during the pandemic. Thirdly, as gains in GDP due to the RRF will be much stronger in (poorer) southern and eastern European countries, the RRF has the potential to reduce economic divergence. Finally, and in direct consequence of the increased GDP, the RRF will lead to lower public debt ratios—between 2.0 and 4.4 percentage points below baseline for southern European countries in 2023.

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Benchmarking Working Europe 2020

A virus is haunting Europe. This year’s 20th anniversary issue of our flagship publication Benchmarking Working Europe brings to a growing audience of trade unionists, industrial relations specialists and policy-makers a warning: besides SARS-CoV-2, ‘austerity’ is the other nefarious agent from which workers, and Europe as a whole, need to be protected in the months and years ahead. Just as the scientific community appears on the verge of producing one or more effective and affordable vaccines that could generate widespread immunity against SARS-CoV-2, however, policy-makers, at both national and European levels, are now approaching this challenging juncture in a way that departs from the austerity-driven responses deployed a decade ago, in the aftermath of the previous crisis. It is particularly apt for the 20th anniversary issue of Benchmarking, a publication that has allowed the ETUI and the ETUC to contribute to key European debates, to set out our case for a socially responsive and ecologically sustainable road out of the Covid-19 crisis.

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Industrial relations: developments 2015-2019

Eurofound has monitored and analysed developments in industrial relations systems at EU level and in EU member states for over 40 years. This new flagship report provides an overview of developments in industrial relations and social dialogue in the years immediately prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Findings are placed in the context of the key developments in EU policy affecting employment, working conditions and social policy, and linked to the work done by social partners—as well as public authorities—at European and national levels.

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Read FEPS Covid Response Papers

In this moment, more than ever, policy-making requires support and ideas to design further responses that can meet the scale of the problem. FEPS contributes to this reflection with policy ideas, analysis of the different proposals and open reflections with the new FEPS Covid Response Papers series and the FEPS Covid Response Webinars. The latest FEPS Covid Response Paper by the Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, 'Recovering from the pandemic: an appraisal of lessons learned', provides an overview of the failures and successes in dealing with Covid-19 and its economic aftermath. Among the authors: Lodewijk Asscher, László Andor, Estrella Durá, Daniela Gabor, Amandine Crespy, Alberto Botta, Francesco Corti, and many more.