Worldwide strikes, protests—making Amazon pay
The monopoly online retailer has extracted vast rents from workers and citizens who are raising their voices globally.
Society
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 societal issues, offering a rich resource for innovative thinking and informed debate.
For equality and the climate, a European wealth tax
The richest 10 per cent of Europeans are responsible for the same carbon emissions as the poorer half of the population.
Green jobs: from challenge to opportunity
Greening our economies offers a unique opportunity to improve job quality in Europe. Justice for workers should be at the core.
EU member states threaten progress on air quality
The Council of the EU’s position would continue to expose the poorest to toxic air for years to come.
COP28 must focus on the climate-fuelled health crisis
The data show we are heading toward catastrophe, yet world leaders refuse to recognise the urgency of phasing out fossil fuels.
Prioritising profits over Europe’s childcare
As in adult long-term care, corporations are accruing rents from publicly funded childcare, exploiting workers and children.
Ensuring a just Europe for all children
More children are at risk of poverty than before the pandemic—early childhood education and care is critical.
COP28: the loss-and-damage fund
A year on from the breakthrough on climate-change funding, poor countries eye disappointment at the Dubai summit.
For socially fair European disability cards
The proposal from the European Commission would fall short of equal citizenship for disabled people.
The fight against human trafficking
As trilogue negotiations begin, the EU is on the home stretch of a crucial directive for victims of human trafficking.
How industry can launder a health-risking substance
Titanium dioxide should remain classified as carcinogenic within the EU—despite industry interference.
Sweden: a social model losing its sheen
Sweden’s much-lauded model of prosperity and social comfort is threatened by a lack of public investment.
Equality for persons with disabilities on the move
The European Commission has put its disability cards on the table but it is not a full hand.
Energy union: including the public imperative
Pursuit of industrial competitiveness and renewable technologies must avoid a backlash from disengaged citizens.
A fairer energy system with energy communities
Energy communities, fostering decentralised, renewable supply, need support with their additional social responsibilities.
Overcrowded camps at Europe’s borders
Gemma Bird and Ella Dodd
Before last May’s election in Greece, the returning prime minister claimed his ‘firm but fair’ policy on people movement worked. Far from it.
Backtracking on a green and just transition?
The Granada declaration will signal whether Europe’s leaders can rise to the climate, biodiversity and pollution crises.