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Will the European Union Protect Workers from Deadly Heat?

Marouane Laabbas-el-Guennouni, Andreas Flouris, Sergio Salas, Sebastian Schneider, Marike Schooneveldt, Ivan Ivanov and Dimitra Theodori

Current legal frameworks leave workers dangerously exposed; only a binding directive can close the gaps.

Why Europe Needs A New Social Federalism

Étienne Balibar, Justine Lacroix, Dominique Méda, Thomas Piketty, Katharina Pistor, Guillaume Sacriste, Antoine Vauchez and Jonathan White

As empires grab resources and discard international law, the EU must forge a new social federalism—or become a vassal.

Should Comparative Economics Still Exist?

Branko Milanovic

Branko Milanovic asks whether we should continue to teach comparative economic systems to broaden students' horizons, or if the global ubiquity of capitalism renders such historical study obsolete.

Putting People at the Heart of the AI Revolution in Finance

Diletta Porcheddu and Sara Prosdocimi

Europe's financial sector is racing to adopt artificial intelligence—but workers are being left behind without a voice in the transformation.

Trump Has Abandoned the World

Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown emphasizes that America’s withdrawal from 66 international organizations is at odds with global public opinion.

Why the Left Must Defend Central Bank Independence

Guillaume Duval

Donald Trump's assault on the Federal Reserve should finally convince progressives that monetary autonomy is a democratic necessity.

AI Note-Takers at Work: The Silent Threat to Privacy and Compliance

Aida Ponce Del Castillo

AI transcription tools promise efficiency but bring legal exposure, surveillance risks, and threats to fundamental rights.

Why Is Putin Silent on Venezuela?

Nina L Khrushcheva

Nina L. Khrushcheva suspects that the Trump administration’s recent actions may have shaken the Russian leader’s confidence.

Hungary’s ‘National Consultations’ Are Not Referendums—Stop Treating Them as Such

Márk Stégmayer

Viktor Orbán's pseudo-democratic questionnaires manufacture consent rather than measure it, yet European media uncritically repeat their results as fact.

The EU’s Regulatory Retreat on ESG Risks Reigniting Financial Instability

Brigita Schmögnerová

The rush to "simplify" sustainability reporting ignores the lessons of 2008 and imperils Europe's financial system.

Romania’s Tiger Economy Is Running Out of Fuel

Jeffrey Sommers and Cosmin Marian

The EU's fastest-growing economy of the past two decades risks stalling unless it dramatically increases its rock-bottom spending on research and education.

What Jürgen Habermas Misses About American Democracy

Christophe Sente

Europe's leading public intellectual offers a flawed, Eurocentric reading of US politics that obscures more than it reveals.

America’s New Age of Empire

Joseph Stiglitz

Joseph E. Stiglitz thinks the rest of the world should plan for the worst and pursue a policy of containment of the US.

Why Social Democrats Must Stop Defending and Start Transforming

Miguel Xavier

The centre-left's defensive crouch has made it look like a guardian of an unfair status quo—radical reformism offers escape.

Appeasing Trump Makes Him More Dangerous by the Day

Frank Hoffer

Europe's leaders, paralysed by fear, are repeating the mistakes of the 1930s—and hastening their own irrelevance.

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Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Progressive Post Issues

With the volatile start to 2026, what insights can progressives learn from 2025? The 7th edition of the Progressive Yearbook is out now!
In this edition of the Progressive Yearbook, we offer analyses of the EU’s domestic issues—ranging from defense and digital autonomy to what remains of the previous Commission’s Green Deal—as well as global questions such as international trade, tariffs, and the emerging new world order.

READ THE PROGRESSIVE YEARBOOK

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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. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the European Minimum Wage Directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50% of the average wage.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

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Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity

Cohesion Policy seeks to foster balanced development and reduce economic, social, and territorial disparities, focusing on rural areas, regions in industrial transition, and those with severe or permanent natural or demographic disadvantages, including outermost, sparsely populated, island, cross-border, and mountain regions.

READ THE PAPER HERE

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Health

🇪🇺 Building a Resilient, Equitable EU Health Union: The S&D Blueprint


From securing pharmaceutical autonomy and guaranteeing universal access to care (the European Health Guarantee) to combatting non-communicable diseases and closing the Gender Health Gap. Read the S&D Group in the European Parliament Position Paper demanding that health becomes a priority across all EU policies.

READ THE POSITION PAPER

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HESA Magazine Cover

Revisiting worker representation on boards

Board-level employee representation (BLER) has repeatedly resurfaced in times of crisis — from the 2008 financial crash to the Covid-19 pandemic — as a response to mismanagement and democratic erosion. Yet codetermination remains unevenly spread across the EU and underdeveloped within EU industrial relations. This ETUI volume revisits worker representation on company boards by shifting the focus beyond the usual German-centred lens and exploring debates, practices and social partners’ positions in ten often-overlooked EU Member States, to assess the prospects for such an institution to thrive in national social policy.

READ HERE

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Mental Health
Eurofound Talks: Europe's productivity paradox

This episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast looks at why Europe has experienced a more profound slowdown in growth compared to other developed regions, and why greater labour input and higher human capital has not translated into higher output per worker. Mary McCaughey and John Hurley also discuss whether Europe can, and should, look to compete with countries such as the United States and China in the race to harness artificial intelligence.
LISTEN HERE

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