Buildings key to achieving Europe’s climate goals
There are fears the revised directive on energy performance due from the European Commission will not be adequate to the task.
Burying the problem: carbon markets and sustainable agriculture
The European Commission initiative on ‘carbon farming’ due today is expected to rely on a market in sequestration.
Will European recovery ever be co-determined by social actors?
The EU’s plan for recovery offered an opportunity for meaningful involvement of social actors. The outcome? Patchy.
A better deal for the world’s workers
Boosting earnings and the dignity of work requires strengthening bargaining power and supplying good jobs to those who most need them.
Transforming German society
More than profound changes to German citizenship laws will be needed to render a diverse society harmonious.
The Summit for Democracy—a wrong idea (for the world)
Branko Milanovic contends that last week’s US-convened Summit for Democracy could only exacerbate geopolitical divides.
Germany’s new coalition: changing gear on climate
Germany’s ‘traffic light’ coalition is sending strong green signals. But political roadblocks lie ahead.
Tax justice—a crucial tool to advance human rights
On Human Rights Day, the world looks a lot different through a lens of social and economic rights.
European Commission takes the lead in regulating platform work
Valerio De Stefano and Antonio Aloisi
The draft directive published today is already breaking the united front of the platform companies.
EU borrowing—time to think of the generation after next
Rebecca Christie, Grégory Claeys and Pauline Weil
Financing post-pandemic recovery via EU borrowing has proved remarkably straightforward. So why keep it temporary?
Regulating digital work: from laisser-faire to fairness
The proposal for an EU directive on platform work about to emerge is welcome, yet insufficient—and no substitute for national action.
The ‘freedom’ to work for nothing
Valeria Pulignano and Agnieszka Piasna
Irregular pay is one of the criticisms levelled at platform companies. But some of the time there is no pay at all.
Monitoring of workers’ personal data via entrance control systems
Preventing 1984-style monitoring of workers requires a rebalancing of workplace power, based on legal regulation and human dignity.
The revolt against reason
Many have lost all trust in politics, Robert Misik writes. The protests against vaccination and anti-virus rules however turn this into madness.
Regularising migrants: Portugal’s missed chance
The pandemic has encouraged a re-evaluation of key migrant workers. A botched reform in Portugal has however revealed the pitfalls.