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.
He did it again: German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble repeatedly reflected on a possible Grexit in February 2017, after having raised this threat already in the negotiations on the third bailout programme in summer 2015. International observers cannot believe Germany has started playing hardball again in this delicate affair just when the European idea is […]
The world needs the European Union now more than ever. Despite recent crises and the hard blow dealt by the Brexit vote, the EU may well be the world’s best line of defense against today’s most serious threats: isolationism, protectionism, nationalism, and extremism in all forms, all of which are once again growing in Europe […]
Last October, British Prime Minister Theresa May shocked many when she disparaged the idea of global citizenship. “If you believe you’re a citizen of the world,” she said, “you’re a citizen of nowhere.” Her statement was met with derision and alarm in the financial media and among liberal commentators. “The most useful form of citizenship these […]
In the weeks since Donald Trump took the oath of office he has set out on a dizzying path of Executive Orders, openly challenged fundamental principles underpinning the US constitution and sparked diplomatic clashes with many, including long-time US allies. Trump has already been referred to as a demagogue, authoritarian, and even a fascist. While […]
The election of Donald Trump to the US Presidency as well as the seemingly inexorable ascendency of right-wing populism in Europe has raised troubling questions about the future of democracy. In his new book, Branko Milanovic (BM) discusses the relationship between global inequality and the future of capitalism and democracy, respectively (a related interview has […]
The week after the UK voted to leave the European Union, Nigel Farage went to the European Parliament and boasted that this was the beginning of the end for the European project. Most MEPs didn’t believe him. Government leaders and EU Commissioners trotted out well-worn clichés about Europe’s resilience. They didn’t sense the danger. They […]
This is a year of crucial national elections in key European countries. In all these countries, right–wing populism raises its ugly head, even though it will hopefully be defeated. A key, though not only, reason for the rise of these extreme right-wing parties is disillusion due to the fairly anemic recovery from the Eurozone debt […]
A couple of days ago, I received the most recent newsletter of BIEN (Basic Income Earth Network). As always, this is very interesting literature, though one must read it with one major fact in mind: the network does not necessarily communicate about basic income… it talks about ‘basic income’ (for all, rich and poor) but […]
After months of argument which brought hundreds of thousands of protestors onto the streets of European cities, the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is this week taking a further step towards implementation, with the vote in the European Parliament. MEPs were put in a difficult position: forced to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to […]
Emmanuel Macron’s star has been rising, there is no doubt about it. His campaign, reportedly long planned but rapidly developing in response to external events, has taken him to the foreground of French politics. Several of the latest polls show him to be ahead of François Fillon, the candidate of the mainstream right, in a first-round contest, and […]
The European Union is not only to establish an internal market but is also to work for the sustainable development of Europe, which is based, in particular, on a highly competitive social market economy aiming at full employment and social progress, and it is to promote, inter alia, social protection. This is what the Court […]
It’s a tragedy but there’s no way around it: At a time when it is most needed, social democracy is at an historic low point. What are progressives to do? Here are four lessons for the future that the Left needs to understand, and four ways to think about the road ahead. How the world has […]
