Social Europe articles on politics

The next round of global climate negotiations, COP 24, takes place in December. It will need to make rapid progress on implementing the Paris Agreement so as to close the gap between what science requires and what countries are doing. European trade unions believe it must also be a milestone on the journey towards a […]

The authoritative conservative German newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), has published an article criticizing the possible appointment of Prof Achim Truger to the Sachverständigenrat (“Weisenrat”), the highly visible Council of Economic Experts, at the suggestion of the trade unions. The article, by economics correspondent Philip Plickert, has to be seen in the context of […]

Robert Solow famously remarked that the effects of the IT revolution were showing up everywhere except in the productivity statistics. Other economists suggested that full exploitation of a new technology can take a long time, perhaps decades. Well, one area now clearly showing the impact of IT and automation is the labour market. Technology is […]

The forthcoming European Parliament (EP) election is destined to be make-or-break for the EU, determining whether Europe will continue on the path towards “an ever-closer union”, or be taken over by sovereigntist forces seeking to reduce it to a “League of Nations”. The growing support for nationalist parties in crucial countries such as Germany, France […]

A major problem in the Brexit debate since June 2016 is how 95 percent of reporting and discussion in the UK media has been about internal Westminster politics. Occasionally space is found for a brief interview with a minister or politician from an EU-27 government but only on condition that they speak perfect English. Pro-Brexit Conservative MPs […]

The Baltic States are still struggling to be seen on the international stage. One hundred years after declaring independence, fears of getting swallowed up by Russia remain strong in Latvia and spurs on the country in building up reliable ties. In a moment of self-awareness back in 1919, Kaarel Robert Pusta, head of the Estonian […]

Fighting against transnational social dumping can best be compared to Heracles’ struggle against the Hydra of Lerna – the multi-headed serpent in Greek mythology. This struggle is highly uneven because every time a head is cut off, the monster regenerates two new ones to replace it. Similarly, when trade unions succeed in revealing a case […]

The main feature of the successive economic adjustment programs implemented in Greece in the period 2010-2018 concerning industrial relations was a radical decentralization of the collective bargaining system and the government setting (more explicitly: the reduction) of national minimum wages. Today, despite the almost complete decentralization of that system, the performance of domestic labour markets […]

Simon Deakin explains in this audio podcast that Britain’s low-wage, low productivity economy is the result of 40 years of neoliberal economic policies.  While some on the Left think that Brexit will allow a reset of British economic policy, this view is implausible. Even a benign or ‘soft’ Brexit will cause a shock to Britain’s […]

For almost half a century following World War Two, Hungary’s Communist regime exercised far-reaching controls over virtually every aspect of society, including education and culture. A state-sanctioned ideology, an approved historical narrative and politically ’reliable’ writers were actively promoted in Hungary’s schools and universities as well as through the arts. At the same time, conflicting […]

Everybody at the European level agrees that we need more quality jobs to build momentum for recovery and climb out of the years of crisis. But what does this actually mean? And what realistic plans are in place to achieve growth that is ‘rich in quality jobs’? Late last year, the European Trade Union Confederation […]

If the recent state elections in Bavaria and Hesse tell us anything at all, they simply provide three instructive lessons for Germany’s political elite. The electorate is tired with establishment politics. The political centre, which often balances extremes, is weak. Economic prosperity is no longer a measure for political success. Of course, the political landscape […]