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Society


Social Europe is an award-winning digital media publisher. We use the values of freedom, sustainability and equality as the foundation on which we examine society’s most pressing challenges. We are committed to publishing cutting-edge thinking and new ideas from the most thought-provoking people. This archive page brings together Social Europe articles on society.

The myth of meritocracy and the populist threat

Lisa Pelling 13th March 2023

Social democrats, Lisa Pelling writes, should abandon the idea of meritocracy if they are to reconnect with les classes populaires.

Impartiality and public-service media

Robin Wilson 11th March 2023

The media storm in Britain around a television personality speaks volumes about why the UK has become a dysfunctional state.

Invisible women—creators, carers and mental health

Estrella Durá Ferrandis and Cristina Lago Godefroid 8th March 2023

The European mental-health strategy should recognise the burdens women face—and the role of culture in lightening them.

How to strengthen women’s resilience to disasters

Magdalena Sepúlveda 8th March 2023

Gender inequality exacerbates the impact of natural disasters, whose consequences compound it.

Making the most of the European Year of Skills

Sofia Fernandes 6th March 2023

Learning to learn must be embedded in working life, Sofia Fernandes writes, if the EU is to meet social and economic goals.

EU concerned by Ukraine’s controversial labour reforms

Kateryna Semchuk and Thomas Rowley 2nd March 2023

The European Union says Ukraine’s reforms must follow international labour standards.

What’s driving the social crisis in France

Guillaume Duval 1st March 2023

The huge demonstrations against the pension ‘reform’ stem from accumulating resentment under Emmanuel Macron.

Workforce strategy the priority in social care

Alfonso Lara Montero 27th February 2023

Training the workforce is central to attracting and retaining staff in quality social care.

Pandemic preparedness: new vaccines are not enough

Maurizia Mezza and Stuart Blume 23rd February 2023

Rapid deployment of vaccines is the key lesson being taken from the Covid-19 pandemic. It should not be the only one.

Social dialogue: still a fuzzy conversation

Christophe Degryse 22nd February 2023

The European Commission remains ambivalent on involvement of the social partners in political decision-making.

Turkey-Syria earthquake: scandal of being unprepared

David Rothery 16th February 2023

Builders had been allowed to pay a ‘construction amnesty’ for breaches of tighter codes introduced after the 1999 earthquake.

Road transport in Europe: drivers from third countries

Roberto Parrillo 14th February 2023

Transport of goods is the new slave-producing machine in Europe—a powerful tool for social dumping.

Contraception inequality in Europe is widening

Lucy Martirosyan 13th February 2023

Acccording to the 2023 Contraception Policy Atlas, access to birth control in parts of Europe is worsening.

Protecting health workers from hazardous products

Ian Lindsley, Tony Musu and Adam Rogalewski 9th February 2023

There is more clarity about hazardous medicinal products but awareness still needs to be raised to protect workers.

EU social agenda beyond 2024—no time to waste

Frank Vandenbroucke 7th February 2023

As a high-level group on social protection and welfare reports, Belgium’s social-affairs minister advances the next EU social agenda.

Europe’s stars must shine for artists and creatives

Isabelle Van de Gejuchte 6th February 2023

A Spanish decree to provide more security for artists and other cultural workers should accelerate EU-level action.

Ukraine war: attitudes changing to women soldiers

Jennifer Mathers and Anna Kvit 1st February 2023

Attitudes to women in the Ukrainian military are changing as thousands serve on the front lines.

Setting standards for national equality bodies

Evelyn Collins 31st January 2023

Advancing gender equality in the EU depends on strong equality bodies in the member states.

Homelessness among asylum-seekers in Brussels

Simona Barbu 26th January 2023

The ‘securitisation’ of migration and asylum has not only meant drownings in the Mediterranean but also destitution in Europe’s cities.

Social dialogue must be at the heart of Europe’s future

Claes-Mikael Ståhl 24th January 2023

This week the European Commission will publish a proposal to revivify social dialogue. It must be more than words.

Labour conflicts in the digital age

Donatella Della Porta, Riccardo Emilio Chesta and Lorenzo Cini 23rd January 2023

Digitalisation is not technologically determined but socially shaped—including by new forms of collective action.

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Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

The macroeconomic effects of re-applying the EU fiscal rules

Against the background of the European Commission's reform plans for the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), this policy brief uses the macroeconometric multi-country model NiGEM to simulate the macroeconomic implications of the most relevant reform options from 2024 onwards. Next to a return to the existing and unreformed rules, the most prominent options include an expenditure rule linked to a debt anchor.

Our results for the euro area and its four biggest economies—France, Italy, Germany and Spain—indicate that returning to the rules of the SGP would lead to severe cuts in public spending, particularly if the SGP rules were interpreted as in the past. A more flexible interpretation would only somewhat ease the fiscal-adjustment burden. An expenditure rule along the lines of the European Fiscal Board would, however, not necessarily alleviate that burden in and of itself.

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Social policy in the European Union: state of play 2022

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