Simpler AI Rules Must Not Mean Weaker Safety for Europe’s Workers
Claes-Mikael Ståhl and Giulio Romani
The Digital Omnibus strips machinery from the AI Act’s high-risk regime, leaving worker safeguards in limbo.
Politics
Analysis and debate on European and national politics, democracy, the rule of law, parties and elections, and Europe’s place in the world.
Burnham’s Break with Thatcherism Matters for All Europe
Britain’s new Prime Minister blames four decades of neoliberalism for national malaise — and continental progressives should pay attention.
Social Democrats Cannot Sit Out the Culture War Any Longer
As the far right reshapes democracy, progressives from Berlin to Washington must decide whether cultural struggle beats technocratic caution.
Europe’s Ultra-Rich Could Fund a Substantial Part of the EU’s Budget
Philipp Heimberger and Bernhard Schütz
Taxes on wealth, crypto and financial trades could raise billions no single member state can collect alone.
The Case Against Trading Europe’s Welfare State for Warfare
Anton Hemerijck and Sven Schreurs
A decade of evidence shows Europe’s welfare state drives growth – making calls to cut it for rearmament self-defeating.
Europe’s Drug War Punishes the Poor and Spares the Powerful
As welfare provision retreats, European states police the marginalised while laundering networks and corporate enablers escape scrutiny.
Péter Magyar Defeated Orbán on Nationalist Ground
In Budapest, Magyar took back the flag — and showed Europe how to beat the far right.
The Industrial Accelerator Act Is Too Weak, Not Too Protectionist
Bruegel wants the EU to drop its manufacturing target and trust the market China spent decades engineering.
Germany’s Seventh Year of Stagnation Exposes a Missing Strategy
Berlin’s new growth package and pension overhaul dodge the real problem: the collapse of corporate investment and innovation.
The Climate Consensus of 2019 Is Gone — Europe Needs a New One
The Commission’s upcoming proposals on carbon markets and electrification will signal whether Europe still means to decarbonise.
FIFA Has Made World Cup Tickets a Financial Instrument
Ghost tickets, surge pricing, and resale fees reveal how football’s biggest event now profits from its own fans.
Switzerland Votes Down a Xenophobic Initiative — Thanks to the Unions
A decades-long union campaign on wage protection helped Swiss voters bury the SVP’s population cap and keep the EU door open.
Open Letter to Manfred Weber
Weber bears responsibility for the Return Regulation vote of 17 June, which allows up to 24 months’ detention for seeking a better life.
Europe’s Circular Economy Must Be Built for Workers, Not Just Resources
Judith Kirton-Darling, Philippe Pochet and Laurent Standaert
Brussels wants to double recycling by 2030, but efficiency targets alone cannot build a fairer, more resilient economy.
Incentives Beat Threats: Europe’s Quiet Reform Breakthrough
Igor Guardiancich, Mattia Guidi, Enrico Borghetto and Lucia Quaglia
NextGenerationEU exposed an awkward truth: governments reform faster when Brussels offers cash than when it threatens punishment.
Hyperglobalization 2.0: Why AI Has Not Slowed the World Down
Trade wars suggest deglobalisation, but the AI race is wiring the world together at unprecedented speed.