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How the Billionaire Boom Is Fueling Inequality—and Threatening Democracy

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

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.

Europe Day with New Dimensions

Europe Day with New Dimensions

László Andor and Udo Bullmann

Transatlantic Tensions Demand A New Geoeconomic Strategy For Europe.

How Europe’s Political Parties Abandoned Openness—and Left Populism to Fill the Void

How Europe’s Political Parties Abandoned Openness—and Left Populism to Fill the Void

Colin Crouch

Western parties stopped defending openness decades ago—now populists dominate a fight no one else dares to enter.

Funding the Future: Why the EU Needs a Bold New Budget

Funding the Future: Why the EU Needs a Bold New Budget

Carla Tavares

As the current long-term budget nears its end, the European Parliament is laying down its demands for a more ambitious financial framework to tackle mounting challenges.

The European Union’s Road to Abundance

The European Union’s Road to Abundance

Elizabeth Kuiper and Pietro Valetto

Why Europe must embrace an “abundance agenda” to deliver results, restore trust, and counter rising populism.

How Sweden’s Welfare Experiment Became a Warning to Europe

How Sweden’s Welfare Experiment Became a Warning to Europe

Lisa Pelling

Sweden pioneered welfare privatisation, and its controversial model is now being exported across the continent.

The Shadow of Unfreedom: A New Authoritarianism Grips the Globe

The Shadow of Unfreedom: A New Authoritarianism Grips the Globe

Robert Misik

A harsh, right-wing authoritarianism is rising, casting a shadow of unfreedom as classic conservatism fades.

Italy’s Minimum Wage Dilemma: Will EU Pressure Force a Policy Shift?

Italy’s Minimum Wage Dilemma: Will EU Pressure Force a Policy Shift?

Guglielmo Meardi and Francesco Seghezzi

Despite EU moves, Italy resists a national minimum wage amid trade union scepticism.

To Counter Populism and Bolster Security, Europe Must Reinvest In Its Citizens

To Counter Populism and Bolster Security, Europe Must Reinvest In Its Citizens

Catherine De Vries

Facing security threats and rising populism, Europe needs state investment in citizens, not austerity that fuelled discontent.

The End of Certainty: A New Geopolitical Era Begins in 2025

The End of Certainty: A New Geopolitical Era Begins in 2025

Nicolas Schmit, Hans Eichel, Jesus Caldera, Stewart Wood, Stefan Collignon, Damon Silvers and Hugo Zsolt de Sousa

Europe must redefine its global role.

A Day to Remember: Why May 8th Should Be a Belgian Holiday

A Day to Remember: Why May 8th Should Be a Belgian Holiday

Ellen de Soete

May 8th deserves to be a Belgian public holiday.

Trump’s America: The New Global Tax Haven?

Trump’s America: The New Global Tax Haven?

Joseph Stiglitz

Trump is turning America into a tax haven, dismantling safeguards and fueling inequality through global deregulation.

The Rise and (Likely) Fall of Wokeness

The Rise and (Likely) Fall of Wokeness

Vivek Chibber

Woke culture emerged from elite shifts in identity politics, abandoning the economic roots of social justice.

The False Economy of Cutting Disability Benefits

The False Economy of Cutting Disability Benefits

Kate Pickett

Financial insecurity destroys lives. Slashing disability benefits isn’t reform—it’s cruelty disguised as cost-saving.

Robots Boost Workplace Safety, But Only in High-tech and Well-protected Economies

Robots Boost Workplace Safety, But Only in High-tech and Well-protected Economies

Marco De Simone, Dario Guarascio and Jelena Reljic

New research reveals that automation benefits are not universal.

The Empire Strikes Back, and Europe is Confused

The Empire Strikes Back, and Europe is Confused

Jan Zielonka

Amid a world of resurgent imperial powers, a fragmented Europe grapples with its past and uncertain future.

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
How are minimum wage levels changing in Europe?

In a new Eurofound Talks podcast episode, host Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound expert Carlos Vacas Soriano about recent changes to minimum wages in Europe and their implications.

Listeners can delve into the intricacies of Europe's minimum wage dynamics and the driving factors behind these shifts. The conversation also highlights the broader effects of minimum wage changes on income inequality and gender equality.

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

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Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Spring issue of The Progressive Post is out!


Since President Trump’s inauguration, the US – hitherto the cornerstone of Western security – is destabilising the world order it helped to build. The US security umbrella is apparently closing on Europe, Ukraine finds itself less and less protected, and the traditional defender of free trade is now shutting the door to foreign goods, sending stock markets on a rollercoaster. How will the European Union respond to this dramatic landscape change? .


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss European defence strategies, assess how the US president's recent announcements will impact international trade and explore the risks  and opportunities that algorithms pose for workers.


READ THE MAGAZINE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

KU Leuven advertisement

The Politics of Unpaid Work

This new book published by Oxford University Press presents the findings of the multiannual ERC research project “Researching Precariousness Across the Paid/Unpaid Work Continuum”,
led by Valeria Pulignano (KU Leuven), which are very important for the prospects of a more equal Europe.

Unpaid labour is no longer limited to the home or volunteer work. It infiltrates paid jobs, eroding rights and deepening inequality. From freelancers’ extra hours to care workers’ unpaid duties, it sustains precarity and fuels inequity. This book exposes the hidden forces behind unpaid labour and calls for systemic change to confront this pressing issue.

DOWNLOAD HERE FOR FREE

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

What kind of impact is artificial intelligence (AI) having, or likely to have, on the way we work and the conditions we work under? Discover the latest issue of HesaMag, the ETUI’s health and safety magazine, which considers this question from many angles.

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