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Social Europe is an award-winning digital media publisher driven by the core values of freedom, sustainability, and equality. These principles guide our exploration of society’s most pressing challenges. This archive page curates Social Europe articles focused on political issues, offering a rich resource for innovative thinking and informed debate.

Debt, Discipline And Democracy In Europe

Engelbert Stockhammer 29th June 2015

On the 5th of July one of two things will end: either Greek democracy as regards economic policy or Greece’s Euro membership. Not a pleasant choice. Negotiations between the left-wing Greek government and the Troika had made little progress over the last months. When prime minister Alexis Tsipras announced a referendum on the Troika’s final […]

Europe’s Attack On Greek Democracy

Joseph Stiglitz 29th June 2015

The rising crescendo of bickering and acrimony within Europe might seem to outsiders to be the inevitable result of the bitter endgame playing out between Greece and its creditors. In fact, European leaders are finally beginning to reveal the true nature of the ongoing debt dispute, and the answer is not pleasant: it is about […]

Why Angela Merkel Is Wrong On Greece

Jürgen Habermas 25th June 2015

The latest judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) casts a harsh light on the flawed construction of a  currency union without a political union. In the summer of 2012 all citizens owed Mario Draghi a debt of gratitude for uttering a single sentence that saved them from the disastrous consequences of the threat […]

Five Reasons Why Migration Into Europe Is A Problem With No Solution

Branko Milanovic 24th June 2015

Sometimes seeing things, even when one is prepared for them, is helpful in focusing the mind. A few days ago, as I got out of a bus that takes passengers from the Malpensa airport in Milan to the Central Station, I was struck by the number of people, obviously African migrants, camping in the piazza in […]

Digital Technologies And The Future Of Data Capitalism

Evgeny Morozov 23rd June 2015

Since time is short, I will jump straight into the heart of things. My thesis today is simple: digital technologies are both our best hope and our worst enemy. Big problems like climate change and disease are unlikely to be tackled without them. Moreover, the Internet of Things shows some promising early signs that shared […]

We Must Stand With Greece For The Sake Of Europe

John Palmer 22nd June 2015

The emergency meeting of Euro-area heads of government in Luxembourg today may be the last chance to prevent a potentially catastrophic series of events in the Euro-area. In spite of the chorus of condemnation of the Greek government’s stand, it is the major Euro-area governments who are primarily responsible for a crisis which could lead […]

Do We Need A New Pact For Europe?

Herman Van Rompuy 22nd June 2015

It is a pleasure to speak here at this important event bringing so many engaged people together from across Europe. I am sure you will be able today to come closer to a shared vision on what our main challenges are, and where Europe should go, in a spirit of dialogue. I have read the […]

How Should Labour Handle The Brexit Referendum?

Denis MacShane 19th June 2015

As the Commons begins to discuss the Brexit plebiscite how should Labour handle the referendum?  By far the most important intervention was not a speech in the EU referendum bill debate but the warning from a troika of pro-European union leaders – Frances O’Grady of the TUC, Dave Prentis of Unison and Sir Paul Kenny of the […]

A Greek Deal Could Be In The Offing – Given The Will!

Reiner Hoffmann Gustav Horn and Gesine Schwan 15th June 2015

The key thing now is to keep a cool head. For the differences can be bridged – if there’s the will to do so.  Time is getting tight and the debate is agonising. Will there be a #Grexit or not: that’s the all-consuming question dominating Athens, Brussels and Berlin. Already, uncertainty about the future of […]

Towards A Social Democracy Based On Facebook Culture

Neal Lawson 15th June 2015

If you were a European social democrat looking to Labour for light at the end of the left’s long and dark electoral tunnel last month then you would have been disappointed. But any cursory glance under Labour’s bonnet and a quick kick of the tyres would have told you this vehicle was never going to […]

A New Birth For Social Democracy

Kemal Dervis 11th June 2015

Nowadays, with the global economy undergoing fundamental transformation, workers worldwide are coming under significant pressure. Particularly in developed economies, social policies must adjust to provide the support that lower-income groups need, while encouraging growth and advancing wellbeing. The pressure has been unrelenting and inescapable. In the United States, real (inflation-adjusted) compensation for men with only […]

Greece, Germany And The Eurozone

Yanis Varoufakis 11th June 2015

Thank you for inviting me. Thank you for being here. Thank you for the warm welcome. Above all thank you for the opportunity to build bridges, to pave common ground, to bring harmony in the face of blatant attempts to sow the seeds of discord between peoples whose historic duty is to come together. Divided By […]

A Franco-German Social Democrat Plan for Reviving the EU

David Gow 10th June 2015

They are a political odd couple, Emmanuel Macron and Sigmar Gabriel, yet they have together put out a radical proposal for reforming the EU/EZ that might just help revive the tired and troubled social democratic project in Europe. The ideas they present are certainly different from the ultra-cautious petits pas recently proposed by the current […]

Twelve Brussels Myths… And Why They Are Wrong

Wolfgang Kowalsky 9th June 2015

1. A more business friendly environment is needed. In reality, thanks to the manifold activities of the Barroso Commission and the “better regulation” agenda, the balance between stakeholders has shifted substantially in recent years in favour of the business side. The Barroso Commission even proposed a new company form for Europe called the SUP which […]

Europe’s Last Act?

Joseph Stiglitz 8th June 2015

European Union leaders continue to play a game of brinkmanship with the Greek government. Greece has met its creditors’ demands far more than halfway. Yet Germany and Greece’s other creditors continue to demand that the country sign on to a program that has proven to be a failure, and that few economists ever thought could, […]

Europe’s Pointless Deficit Targets?

Benedicta Marzinotto 5th June 2015

The fiscal rules of the European Union have undergone some much-needed improvements in recent years, but much more needs to be done. In addition to suffering from a lack of clarity on key issues, EU fiscal policy remains overly focused on short-term goals, reflected in its needless emphasis on nominal deficit targets within annual budget […]

A Speech Of Hope For Greece

Yanis Varoufakis 5th June 2015

On September 6, 1946 US Secretary of State James F. Byrnes traveled to Stuttgart to deliver his historic “Speech of Hope.” Byrnes’ address marked America’s post-war change of heart vis-à-vis Germany and gave a fallen nation a chance to imagine recovery, growth, and a return to normalcy. Seven decades later, it is my country, Greece, that needs such a […]

Freedom Of Association And The Right To Strike

Luis Inacio Lula da Silva 5th June 2015

It is a fact that technological innovations and changes in the organization of work have caused alterations in the labour market, making certain international labour standards obsolete and, at the same time, giving rise to demands for new rights. However, this does not justify the pressure that the International Labour Organization (ILO) has been put […]

Europe’s Refugee Amnesia

Javier Solana 4th June 2015

After World War I, when millions of European civilians were made refugees, forced out of their homelands by enemy occupation or deportation, an international regime was developed to coordinate effective responses and ease the suffering of those who had been uprooted. A century later, another refugee crisis is underway, and this time, it is Europe […]

Why A March To The Centre Is Not The Path To Victory

David Lizoain 3rd June 2015

The most frequent critique of first past the post (FPTP) is that by favouring the creation of stable majorities it generates unfair and unrepresentative results. FPTP distills the complexity of the electorate into much simpler outcomes. The nature of the system makes it easier for parties to ignore emerging trends that lack an institutional expression. […]

Europe And Anti-Europe

Joschka Fischer 2nd June 2015

Since 2008, when the global financial crisis erupted, the European Union has been confronted by a succession of crises: the escalating Greek crisis; Russian revanchism in Ukraine; and the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean (which is inextricably linked to the regional crisis in the Middle East and Africa’s various wars). These crises have stretched the […]

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