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.
Labour advocates have long complained that international trade agreements are driven by corporate agendas and pay little attention to the interests of working people. The preamble of the World Trade Organization Agreement mentions the objective of “full employment,” but otherwise labour standards remain outside the scope of the multilateral trade regime. The only exception is a clause, […]
The debate on UK withdrawal from the EU has included talk about sovereignty, as if sovereignty were a given to which divergent political opinions can be attached. But the word ‘sovereignty’ is a false friend. It seems to mean something clear and precise. It does not. Before final and fatal decisions are taken on the […]
There’s no better trade deal for the UK than being in the EU but the Chequers ‘sticky tape’ may just help the UK Brexit if it still wants to. Dr Lorand Bartels, Reader in International Law at the University of Cambridge who teaches WTO & EU law, tells the Cambridge Public Policy SRI (Strategic Research […]
Sex trafficking is big business. The ILO estimates that global sex trafficking generates $99 billion in profits every year for traffickers. It’s an exploitation industry that has grown rapidly in the past few decades. Sex trafficking, as understood by the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), is the trafficking in persons for “the recruitment and […]
The largest question in democratic politics in Europe is: who’s in charge? The issue was illuminated in the latest standoff in the European Parliament, where the body voted on Wednesday to sanction Hungary for its illiberal policies. And in Sweden, where the far-right did well enough in last Sunday’s election to ensure that its borders are tightened. […]
Sebastian Kurz was in Italy recently (Friday 14/09) to attend a large political event. Three out of the four local daily newspapers in the area did not bother announcing the arrival of the Austrian chancellor. Even stranger, none of Italy’s national media signalled, however briefly, the visit of a rather controversial head of government, from a […]
European security currently rests essentially on the NATO alliance and the principle of mutual defence, and on cooperation between national intelligence services working to prevent violence against people and national assets. But in an era when threats come from domestic extremists as well as hostile state and non-state actors seeking to undermine democratic institutions, this […]
Will Michel Barnier save Theresa May’s bacon and will historians look back on a wasted three months soon after the UK’s June 2016 Referendum? Catherine Barnard, Professor of EU Law at the University of Cambridge and a Senior Fellow of UK in a Changing Europe, tells the Cambridge Public Policy SRI (Strategic Research Initiative) what […]
Economists have been pretty silent over the summer. It has probably been too hot to come up with new ideas. Generally speaking, most of them are more passionate about 2% inflation or ½% growth and other economic key figures than about the 2% rise in the Earth’s temperature. This summer, wildfires spread all over Europe […]
The protest that took place in Bucharest on August 10 brought Romania into the spotlight again. What drew attention even more was the unprecedented violent actions taken against the protesters. The General Prosecutor’s Office started an official investigation that is looking both into who gave the orders to use violence and whether the Gendarmerie acted […]
Twenty-first century European politics has been characterised by patterns of electoral volatility, alongside the recent economic and ongoing refugee crisis. This has allowed ‘populist’ parties on both the right and left to capitalise on the electoral failure of mainstream centre left and right parties. There has been a considerable amount of research on the recent rise of populist radical right […]
With almost all votes counted, the most evident Swedish election result is political uncertainty. Clearest winners are parties with a distinct stance on migration – the Left Party with 7.9 per cent (+ 2.2), the Sweden Democrats with 17.60 per cent (+ 4.7) and the centre-right Centre with 8.6 per cent (+2.5). An almost three […]
