politics, economy and employment & labour
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.
With over 1,000 migrants in the Mediterranean feared dead following a series of incidents in recent weeks, EU Foreign and Interior Ministers agreed on an action plan on 20 April for addressing the crisis. Anna Triandafyllidou writes on the key elements underpinning the problem and outlines four key elements that a new strategic approach should consist of: […]
The death of hundreds of thousands of people and death of hundreds of migrants off the coast of Libya is not only deeply saddening – it should shock the global conscience. The Mediterranean is fast becoming a sea of misery for thousands of migrants. More than twice as many migrants have died at sea in […]
The new European Commission (EC) under President Jean-Claude Juncker is committed to re-launching social dialogue and a first step was taken with the organisation of a high-level conference in Brussels on 5 March. The aim of the conference was to discuss concrete ways to strengthen social dialogue with EU cross-industry social partners and their national […]
Media reports indicate that the stand-off between the new Greek government and its creditors is going to the wire. At stake is Greece’s continued membership of the euro area. Much has been written on the lack of progress and understanding between the two sides. In many cases reports are based on little more than gossip, […]
New research by IMF staff has found there is no evidence that reforms that deregulate labour markets have any positive impact on increasing the economy’s growth potential. As labour market deregulation has been a key ingredient in the IMF and troika’s financial bail-out programmes in several European member states, this raises serious questions about the […]
It is quite amazing that the European Commission has never really addressed the question of European democracy. Neither a White Paper nor a Green Paper has been issued to reflect upon the concept of supranational democracy that has been under discussion since the very foundations of the European Community/Union. The issue of a democratic deficit […]
Economic growth has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and improved the lives of many more over the last half-century. Yet it is increasingly evident that a model of human development based on economic progress alone is incomplete. A society which fails to address basic human needs, equip citizens to improve their […]
It is just a few weeks since the minimum wage was introduced in Germany, but it is already becoming quite clear that its implementation in practice cannot be taken for granted. Scarcely a day goes by without the media reporting new minimum wage breaches. Online, meanwhile, law firms openly offer counselling on how to sidestep […]
It has long been recognised that extreme inequality has many serious social consequences, as well as causing economic fragility and weakness – now the time has surely come to act. There’s a lot of talk about inequality. From Pope Francis to the Bank of England’s Mark Carney, a rising number of global figures have declared […]
Where to start when asked, in five points, to encapsulate an institution as complex, as contested, as frequently misunderstood and indeed as deliberately misrepresented as the European Union? Perhaps with the statement that both its supporters and detractors exaggerate their cases. 1. Rather than being the all-powerful behemoth frequently alluded to by its critics, the […]
1. Europe enters philosophy in the context of a distinctively philosophical conception of human history. One might wonder what philosophy, as an a priori inquiry, can possibly have to say about history, which is, one might imagine, everywhere run through with contingency and chance. What philosophy brings to history is shaped by the anthropology that […]
Social and economic changes in Europe have given rise to new forms of employment, many very different from traditional ‘work’. What are these new trends, and how do they affect working conditions and the labour market? Irene Mandl of Eurofound examines the findings of a special report. The huge increase in the use of zero-hours […]
