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Politics

Social Europe is an award-winning digital media publisher driven by the core values of freedom, sustainability, and equality. These principles guide our exploration of society’s most pressing challenges. This archive page curates Social Europe articles focused on political issues, offering a rich resource for innovative thinking and informed debate.

Made in Europe Must Serve Workers, Not Wealthy Shareholders

Jan Willem Goudriaan

Europe's industrial policy risks becoming a corporate giveaway unless strict social and environmental conditions are attached.

Europe and the End of the Post-War International Order

Stephen Pogány

As great powers abandon international law with impunity, Europe must unite or risk fragmentation and subordination.

Europe’s Best Tools for Countering Trump

Daniel Gros

Daniel Gros recommends targeted export tariffs, taxes on royalties, and the elimination of US Treasuries’ risk-free status.

Europe’s Budget Gamble: Why Cutting Cohesion Funds Will Backfire

Sonja Hennen and Dominika Biegon

The EU's proposed long-term budget sacrifices the very regional investment and social resilience that underpin competitiveness.

Why Europe Needs A New Social Federalism

Étienne Balibar, Justine Lacroix, Dominique Méda, Thomas Piketty, Katharina Pistor, Guillaume Sacriste, Antoine Vauchez and Jonathan White

As empires grab resources and discard international law, the EU must forge a new social federalism—or become a vassal.

Putting People at the Heart of the AI Revolution in Finance

Diletta Porcheddu and Sara Prosdocimi

Europe's financial sector is racing to adopt artificial intelligence—but workers are being left behind without a voice in the transformation.

Why the Left Must Defend Central Bank Independence

Guillaume Duval

Donald Trump's assault on the Federal Reserve should finally convince progressives that monetary autonomy is a democratic necessity.

Why Is Putin Silent on Venezuela?

Nina L Khrushcheva

Nina L. Khrushcheva suspects that the Trump administration’s recent actions may have shaken the Russian leader’s confidence.

Hungary’s ‘National Consultations’ Are Not Referendums—Stop Treating Them as Such

Márk Stégmayer

Viktor Orbán's pseudo-democratic questionnaires manufacture consent rather than measure it, yet European media uncritically repeat their results as fact.

The EU’s Regulatory Retreat on ESG Risks Reigniting Financial Instability

Brigita Schmögnerová

The rush to "simplify" sustainability reporting ignores the lessons of 2008 and imperils Europe's financial system.

What Jürgen Habermas Misses About American Democracy

Christophe Sente

Europe's leading public intellectual offers a flawed, Eurocentric reading of US politics that obscures more than it reveals.

America’s New Age of Empire

Joseph Stiglitz

Joseph E. Stiglitz thinks the rest of the world should plan for the worst and pursue a policy of containment of the US.

Why Social Democrats Must Stop Defending and Start Transforming

Miguel Xavier

The centre-left's defensive crouch has made it look like a guardian of an unfair status quo—radical reformism offers escape.

Appeasing Trump Makes Him More Dangerous by the Day

Frank Hoffer

Europe's leaders, paralysed by fear, are repeating the mistakes of the 1930s—and hastening their own irrelevance.

Can Hungary’s Opposition Finally Break Orbán’s Grip on Power?

Stephen Pogány

After 15 years of Fidesz rule, an unlikely challenger threatens Viktor Orbán's grip on Hungary but formidable obstacles remain.

Strength Without Weight: Ideas For A Post-Bureaucratic State

Geoff Mulgan

Geoff Mulgan reimagines the state as a lean, agile force that delivers power without the drag of bureaucracy.

Venezuela And The Decline Of American Democracy

Timothy Snyder

Timothy Snyder sees a familiar connection between US domestic repression and escalating foreign aggression.

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S&D Housing Storytelling

Europeans are struggling with rising housing and rental costs, and we have been working in various ways to address this, because we believe a home is a right for everyone.
 Recently, we travelled across Europe to hear directly from people who struggle to afford a decent place to live. They shared a glimpse of how the housing crisis has affected their lives and why having a home is so important to them. Take a moment to check out their stories. They remind us why it is so urgent to act.

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New Edition - Social policy in the European Union: state of play 2025

Can Europe preserve its distinctive social model while simultaneously rearming, reindustrialising, and reorganising its economy in a more conflictual and competitive world? This is the central question raised in this new edition of the Bilan social, a reference publication released every spring for more than 25 years by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and the European Social Observatory (OSE).

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Is financial resilience and trust in Europe faltering?

In this episode of Eurofound Talks, host Mary McCaughey and senior researcher Eszter Sandor unpack the results of the 2025 Living and Working in the EU e-survey. While headline inflation has stabilised at 2.1%, the data reveals a continent gripped by chronic precariousness, with 57% of respondents now at risk of depression. Mary and Eszter explore how this economic insecurity is impacting institutional trust and democratic engagement.

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Read the book "The open future and its enemies" 

A robust democracy must not leave the future in the hands of the alliance between Big Tech and the far right. AI must be politically reined in and democratically shaped so that humanity retains its sovereignty.

Artificial intelligence is regarded as the driving force of progress. Yet it has long since become a challenge to democracy. The book argues that uncontrolled AI will erode our freedom, self-determination and democracy.

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WSI Minimum Wage Report 2026

Minimum wage policy across Europe has shifted significantly, with many EU countries raising wages above average and anchoring them to adequate living standards. This trend is consolidating as countries increasingly adopt the reference values recommended in the European Minimum Wage Directive — recently upheld by the European Court of Justice.

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“What is the actual purpose of the state?” – this central question is the focus of the analysis. At a time when bureaucratic processes are making life difficult for citizens, the paper proposes a three-part model. It aims at a conception of the state as a platform that helps society build the capabilities it needs to address its problems effectively.

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