Skip to content

Social Europe

  • eBooks
  • Newsletter
  • Membership
  • Advertisements

Europe’s Euro Ambition: A Risky Bid for “Exorbitant Privilege”

Peter Bofinger

Christine Lagarde seeks a greater international role for the euro, but Europe's economic realities present a complex challenge.

Trump’s Attacks on Academia: Is the U.S. University System Itself to Blame?

Bo Rothstein

Amid Donald Trump's hostility towards universities the question remains: how did the US leading scholars lose trust?

Shaping the Future of Digital Work: A Bold Proposal for Platform Worker Rights

Valerio De Stefano

A new draft convention proposes to establish a comprehensive rights and protections for platform workers globally.

Europe Must Adapt to Its Ageing Workforce

Franz Eiffe and Karel Fric

As the continent's birth rates decline and its population ages, policymakers face the urgent task of retaining experienced workers and adapting workplaces.

Poland’s Polarised Election Signals a Wider Crisis for Liberal Democracy

Catherine De Vries

A razor-thin victory for the national-conservative Law and Justice Party reveals deep societal divisions and a broader erosion of centrist coalitions across the West.

Poland’s War Against Itself

Sławomir Sierakowski

A shocking upset hands Poland’s presidency to a far-right populist with a scandal-ridden past and extremist allies.

Europe’s Businesses Face a Quiet Takeover as US Investors Capitalise

Tej Gonza and Timothée Duverger

American investors are increasingly acquiring European companies, prompting calls for new ownership models to protect economic sovereignty.

Portugal’s Political Earthquake: Centrist Grip Crumbles, Right Ascends

Emanuel Ferreira

A seismic shift in Portugal's 2025 elections reflects a broader Western trend: the erosion of centrist dominance and the rise of populist forces.

“The Universities Are the Enemy”: Why Europe Must Act Now

Bartosz Rydlinski

The EU should welcome US scholars fleeing Trump’s assault on academia—and lead in global innovation and freedom.

Britain’s COVID Generation: Why Social Democracy Must Seize the Moment

Jatinder Hayre

COVID spotlighted inequality. Europe must act—or lose a generation to austerity’s long shadow and policy neglect.

Trump’s ‘Golden Era’ Fades as European Allies Face Harsh New Reality

Ferenc Németh and Peter Kreko

Once optimistic, key European leaders who backed Donald Trump now face stinging tariffs and a new, uncompromising Washington.

Closing the Chasm: Central and Eastern Europe’s Continued Minimum Wage Climb

Carlos Vacas-Soriano and Christine Aumayr-Pintar

Minimum wages in Central and Eastern Europe continue to rise.

Ending Britain’s “Brief Encounter” with Brexit

Stefan Stern

A romantic Brexit reset? UK and EU edge closer to ending their brief but painful post-referendum encounter.

The Future of American Soft Power

Joseph S. Nye

Soft power helped America lead the world. Trump’s wrecking ball diplomacy risks handing that role to China.

Trump Can’t Kill the Boom: Why the US Economy Will Roar Despite Him

Nouriel Roubini

Markets, innovation, and AI are overpowering Trump’s chaos—and pushing America toward 4% growth, recession or not.

How the Billionaire Boom Is Fueling Inequality—and Threatening Democracy

Fernanda Balata and Sebastian Mang

As wealth concentrates at the top, Europe must act now to defend democracy and economic stability for all.

Why Europe Needs Its Own AI Infrastructure

Diane Coyle

Trump’s return highlights why Europe must build its own AI ecosystem—secure, competitive, and true to its values.

Prev Next
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
Eurofound Advertisement

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

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. 

MORE INFO
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.

MORE INFO

Our Mission

People

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

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