Social Europe

Building A Good Europe

This week Britain faces a defining choice about our relationship with the EU. The hope, imagination and compassion we so desperately needed have been drowned

Missing Topic In #EUref: Neo-liberalism Gone Too Far

As the referendum campaign nears its end, one central issue is remarkable for its absence, despite the fact that it has been a major contributor

The New Skills Agenda: Does it Do Enough?

The European Commission has just published its so-called New Skills Agenda. I welcome this initiative as it addresses many of the challenges of tomorrow’s labour

A New Economic Paradigm To Fight Populism

If the polls tell the truth, 86 percent of the Austrian blue-collar workers voted for the right-wing populist Norbert Hofer in the Austrian presidential elections in May.

Trade Union Recipe For A Strong Economy And Workers’ Rights

The Commission’s latest so-called Country Specific Recommendations on strengthening the European economy show a slightly greater emphasis on social issues: a welcome (if inadequate) shift,

Brexit, Labour Rights And Migration: What’s Really At Stake

The final days of the UK referendum debate look set to be dominated by social policy, centred on the question of migration, but not confined

Immigration Benefits Are Underestimated

Immigration seems to be a very good thing if you look at economic research, and not just in terms of benefits for public finances in

Brexit and the Globalization Trilemma

I have not written much on Brexit because I do not have a strong or particularly well-informed view of it. My personal hope is that

I Am Scottish, British And European And Happy To Remain So

I am Scottish, British and European and happy to remain so. I am, mostly, proud of all these things. I left Scotland more than 40

Remain And Renegotiate! How To Stop The Brexit Bandwagon

Three Labour figures — Tom Watson, Ed Balls and Tristram Hunt — have, in the past 24 hours, called for a revision to the EU free movement rules. This

The Decline Of The European Empire

While Europe was engrossed in facing up to the Euro crisis, all around it the greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War was deepening.

The Brexit Paradoxes – Energy

The Brexit debate is a paradox. The motivations are political, but most of the argument has been about economics. The case for Brexit has been

Confronting The Global Threat To Democracy

Across the world, populists are attracting votes with their promises to protect ordinary people from the harsh realities of globalization. The democratic establishment, they assert,