Skip to content

Social Europe

  • eBooks
  • Newsletter
  • Membership
  • Advertisements
The Vienna State Opera House — architectural cross-section, Austria.

France’s Democratic Malaise: Stop Blaming Citizens, Start Reforming Institutions

Nonna Mayer and Frédéric Gonthier

When eight in ten French citizens feel unrepresented, the problem lies not with democratic fatigue but with a political system that has forgotten how to listen.

Abstract illustration of EU and US flags with a man walking away.

Europe Must Abandon Appeasement and Confront Trump’s Hostile America

Guillaume Duval

The failure of European leaders' strategy of accommodation proves that Trump's United States has become an adversary, not an ally, demanding a fundamental shift in EU policy.

Futuristic machine projecting data towards a university building, symbolising knowledge transfer.

The Geopolitics of Knowledge: Why Europe Must Reinvest in Its Universities

Manuel Muñiz

To compete in the twenty-first century's knowledge economy, Europe must transform its higher education system into a strategic powerhouse.

Futuristic bridge with trees and people, Social Europe.

Europe’s Eco-Social Union: The Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s Great Transformation

Bea Cantillon

As climate ambitions falter, Europe's unique framework for linking social and ecological goals may prove more resilient—and revolutionary—than it appears.

Gavel — symbol of justice, Social Europe.

After Landmark EU Court Judgement: The EU Minimum Wages Directive Is Alive and Kicking

Torsten Müller and Thorsten Schulten

The landmark ruling validates the directive's approach to adequate wages and collective bargaining, dealing only minor setbacks to its implementation across Europe.

Man — walking on a path through a crowd, Social Europe.

Domination Without Order: How Libertarianism Betrays the Freedom of the Other

Justus Seuferle

The libertarian promise of freedom masks a darker reality: absolute liberation for the few means domination for the many.

Protester with green jacket at Brussels demonstration, Social Europe.

Belgium’s Workers Rise Against Austerity as Government Doubles Down on Cuts

Marie-Hélène Ska

Historic protests and escalating strikes challenge a coalition determined to slash social protections while boosting corporate subsidies.

Two men in suits observe a clock with a tree growing in the centre.

Europe’s Green Deal: An Economic Imperative, Not a Burden

Peter Hennicke and Anders Wijkman

Abandoning climate ambition would forfeit Europe's competitive advantage in the trillion-euro green technology market.

Abstract illustration of climate change with wind turbines and cityscape.

Time to Move Forward So We Don’t Go Back

Enma Lopez

In a world gripped by far-right populism, Spain's progressive government proves that advancing the welfare state—not merely defending it—is the best vaccine against reactionary politics.

Sculpture of a contemplative face with plant growth, Social Europe.

Are We Humans or Homo Economicus? Why Economics Needs to Evolve Beyond Growth

Kate Pickett

Economics assumes we behave like chimps, but humans are far more cooperative—and our economic models must catch up.

Iceberg with a small human figure, Social Europe.

Europe’s Digital Welfare Revolution: Progress at What Price?

Hans Dubois

As Europe races to digitalise its social protection systems, the promise of efficiency collides with the reality of exclusion—creating a paradox where the most vulnerable risk being left furthest behind.

Stylised landscape with winding path and trees, social Europe.

Social Democracy’s Lost Spark: When the Third Way Led Nowhere

Polly Toynbee

The centre-left's millennial triumph marked not a new dawn but the beginning of a long decline into cautious centrism.

Abstract geometric art with audience, Social Europe.

EU Court Upholds Minimum Wage Directive in Victory for Social Europe

Roland Erne

The ruling preserves key provisions on wage adequacy and collective bargaining, revealing how employer lobbying inadvertently expanded EU social policy powers.

Man with lantern in dark and light, Social Europe.

The Light Still Flickers: Why Europe Must Rediscover Its Fighting Spirit

Stefan Stern

Against the populist darkness threatening democracy, Europeans must remember that enlightenment principles require active defence—and the courage to confront bullies.

Futuristic cityscape with a solitary figure, Social Europe.

Estonia’s Digital Frontier: When Perfect E-Government Meets the Paradox of Trust

Iivi Riivits-Arkonsuo

Efficiency without empathy risks turning citizens into data points—Estonia's digital frontier reveals the human limits of technological perfection.

Prev Next

Progressive Thinking on the Big Issues of Our Time

Read by policymakers, academics and journalists in 100+ countries.

S&D Group in the European Parliament Advertisement

S&D conference The Middle East at crossroads: A progressive vision, 9 September 2026, European Parliament, Brussels

S&D conference “The Middle East at crossroads: A progressive vision”

The S&D Group is pleased to invite you to our conference “The Middle East at crossroads: A progressive vision” on Wednesday, 9 September, from 14:30 to 18:30, in the European Parliament in Brussels as well as online, where we will discuss the geopolitical changes taking place in the Middle East.

MORE INFO

ETUI Advertisement

Cover of the ETUI and OSE book Social policy in the European Union: state of play 2025.

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

Eurofound Advertisement

EurofoundTalks podcast with Mary McCaughey and Eszter Sandor: Is financial resilience and trust in Europe faltering?

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

FEPS Advertisement

Cover of The Progressive Post issue 31, Summer 2026: The Mediterranean, a crowded sea.

The Summer issue of The Progressive Post is out! 

The EU is belatedly awakening to a changing Mediterranean sea, where more assertive regional powers are reclaiming a role.

The new issue of the magazine also reflects on how we struggle to keep pace with AI innovations, examines the uncertainties surrounding the execution of the Pact on Migration and Asylum and the risk to human rights posed by the Return Regulation, and focuses on the EU Commission's newly proposed Industrial Accelerator Act.

READ THE MAGAZINE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI blog series “Climate Transition: Socially Just and Fair”: How the climate crisis and global migration are linked, by Neva Löw and Maximilian Pichl

How the climate crisis and global migration are linked

The climate crisis and global migration are closely linked. Emancipatory forces must demand and defend the right to be able to leave, but not to have to leave. This means defending and expanding asylum rights.

READ HERE

FES Advertisement

Cover of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung analysis The Capability State: A Progressive Vision for the 21st Century by Henning Meyer.

“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.

MORE INFO

Our Mission

People

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Transparency Notice

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

Copyright Social Europe Publishing & Consulting GmbH 2026
  • eBooks
  • Newsletter
  • Membership
  • Advertisements