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The European Social Model: Key to Competitive Growth?

Mary McCaughey

As Europe faces mounting global challenges, its distinctive social framework may hold the answer to achieving both economic competitiveness and social cohesion.

Europe Needs Industrial Policy That Puts Workers First in an Age of Uncertainty

Susanne Wixforth and Michael Soder

Bold industrial strategy must combine green transformation with social justice to secure Europe's economic future.

Zohran Mamdani’s Win and the Price of Urban Life: Why City Voters Are Seeking Change

Lynn Parramore

The soaring costs of city life appear to be sending urban voters toward progressive leaders who promise relief, both in the U.S. and globally.

Democracy’s Ratchet Effect: Why the Left and Centre Must Unite Against Rising Authoritarianism

Robert Misik

As emergencies mount and extremism feeds on paralysis, democratic forces need more than lowest-common-denominator coalitions to break the cycle of political decay.

Albania’s AI Minister Cannot Fix What Citizens No Longer Trust

Erjon Tase

Bold reforms and EU progress ring hollow when inequality deepens and Albanians choose to leave the country.

When Democracy and Liberalism Collide: America’s Governance Crisis

Marlies Murray

The United States is dismantling the very institutions designed to solve its problems—a paradox that reveals a deeper conflict between democratic will and liberal principles.

Europe’s Self-Inflicted Wound: The Corporate Responsibility Retreat

Guillaume Duval

By dismantling corporate sustainability rules, European businesses are handing competitive advantages to their foreign rivals.

Botswana’s Critical Transition: From Parental Provider to Democratic Enabler

Galaletsang Dintsi and Kabo Diamond Moseki

As diamond revenues collapse and public trust erodes, Botswana's new government attempts a fundamental reimagining of the state-citizen relationship.

Sovereignism: Europe’s Most Dangerous Political Plague

Jan Zielonka

The transnational crises of our era demand European solutions, yet national leaders cling to sovereignty games that leave citizens vulnerable and searching for scapegoats.

Universities Must Stay Global in a Fragmenting World

Manuel Muñiz

As global fragmentation accelerates, higher education faces pressure to abandon its international mission—but history shows that open, engaged universities are essential for human progress.

Europe’s Defence Dilemma: Why Fiscal Union Is No Longer Optional

Andris Šuvajevs

Without radical institutional reform, Europe cannot mount the defence it desperately needs against an increasingly aggressive Russia.

Europe’s Housing Crisis Threatens the Foundations of Democracy

Bartosz Rydlinski

Affordable homes built the post-war social contract—their absence today fuels political extremism.

Climate Refugees Are Already Here—And Democracy Hangs In The Balance

Neva Löw and Maximilian Pichl

As island nations sink beneath rising seas, the world faces a stark choice: build walls or build solidarity in the face of climate-driven displacement.

Europe’s Geothermal Moment: What Iceland’s Energy Revolution Teaches Us

Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson

Iceland transformed its heating system from oil to geothermal at a surprising speed—Europe should take note.

Europe’s Real Security Crisis: Why Social And Ecological Protection Must Unite

Aurore Fransolet, Éloi Laurent, Philippe Pochet and Pascale Vielle

The EU's next budget threatens to slash climate transition funds for military spending. But Europe's gravest security threats already strike inside our borders — killing 62,000 citizens last year alone.

Portugal’s Democratic Paradox: How A Democracy Confronts The Crisis Of Trust

Fatima Fonseca

Fifty years after dictatorship, Portugal faces the challenge of rebuilding faith in democratic institutions while delivering on citizens' rising expectations.

Europe Needs A Public Investment Revolution To Secure Its Economic Future

Philipp Heimberger and Cara Dabrowski

Boosting infrastructure spending would stimulate growth and employment without threatening debt sustainability.

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ETUI Advertisement

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).

READ HERE
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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.

LISTEN HERE
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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.

READ THE BOOK
Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

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.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT
S&D Group in the European Parliament Advertisement

S&D Africa Days 2026

We are pleased to invite you to save the date for the S&D Africa Days 2026, taking place on 30 June and 1 July 2026, in Brussels. 

At a time when Africa is too often viewed through narrow and one-sided narratives, this initiative reflects a key political priority for the S&D Group: to advance a renewed, forward-looking partnership of equals between Europe and Africa based on equality, solidarity, social justice and shared progress. 

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FES Advertisement

“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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