Together with our partners from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Social Europe is running a new project on the situation of progressive parties from across the world with a specific focus on social democratic parties in Europe. Most progressive parties find themselves in difficult situations in their respective political systems and it is the aim of this project […]

Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic, collectively known as the Visegrád countries, have been in the spotlight in the wake of the refugee crisis. They have often been blamed for not playing their part as members of the European Union in addressing the continent’s pressing refugee situation. Beyond governmental policies, however, there are many […]

On 23rd June 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum and decided to leave the European Union – an unprecedented decision in European history. The collection of articles below provides in-depth analysis of the major points of discussion. Our ‘Understanding Brexit’ section is now amended by new contributions looking at the aftermath of Brexit. What does Brexit mean […]

The European Union is faced with an unprecedented challenge. It needs to help refugees coming to Europe from the crisis areas around the Mediterranean and at the same time do more to eradicate the reasons for their displacement. Far too many people have died in the Mediterranean and the humanitarian situation in many refugee camps and escape […]

The Greek crisis has entered its final stage and it is becoming ever more difficult to penetrate the complexities of the unfolding events. Social Europe has published analytical pieces on the political and economic issues for years. Find below some of our key articles we recommend reading if you want to understand what is going […]

Together with our partners from the Bertelsmann Stiftung Social Europe brings together a series of articles and interviews designed to inform the key European political debates. Twice a month we present cutting-edge thinking by some of the most thought-provoking commentators, researchers and decision-makers involved in European affairs. Click on the cards to read the individual contributions […]

The PEGIDA demonstrations that have taken place in Dresden and some other big German cities have attracted a significant amount of attention in the media across Europe and beyond. Even though the German demonstrations seem moribund due to the decline of the organisation, the underlying discontent that has fed the protests has not gone away and PEGIDA marches […]

The Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh in April 2013 made global news. With more than 1000 dead it was the most serious accident in the garment industry ever. The accident also raised major concerns about the working conditions in Bangladesh’s garment industry and questions about western companies’ lack of control and supervision of their […]

The year 2014 was an important watershed for the European Union. After half a decade of crisis, a new European Parliament was elected and a new Commission took office. When they had the chance in May, many European citizens voiced their disapproval of the political direction the Union has taken in recent years. It seems clear that the EU not […]