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The Digital Omnibus: Deregulation Dressed as Innovation

Aida Ponce Del Castillo

The EU's sweeping data and AI package loosens safeguards for workers while promising competitiveness gains that will flow mainly to US tech giants.

Poland Shows Hungary How Grassroots Democracy Can Defeat Authoritarian Drift

Edit Zgut-Przybylska

Civil society and local autonomy proved decisive in Poland's democratic revival—lessons Hungary must now learn.

Why Political Imagination Has Died—And How to Resurrect It

Siemen Van den Broecke

Margaret Thatcher's ghost haunts global politics as leaders worldwide embrace her "no alternative" mantra, leaving citizens trapped in a system that refuses to acknowledge its own ideology.

Uruguay’s Enduring State: From Century-Old Consensus to Twenty-First Century Trials

Aníbal Peluffo, Patricia González and Viviana Barreto

A nation built on public provision faces new tests as crime, inequality and demographic shifts challenge its foundational social contract.

The Algorithmic Workplace: How Platformisation Is Reshaping Work in Europe

Ignacio Gonzalez-Vazquez, Enrique Fernández-Macías, Sally Wright and Davide Villani

New evidence reveals that data-driven management now shapes how millions work across Europe—with profound implications for autonomy and well-being.

Sir Keir Starmer Wants Growth—Perhaps He Should Learn Spanish

Denis MacShane

Spain's socialist government has delivered economic growth three times faster than Britain's; Labour would do well to study how.

The UK-EU Reset Needs Strategic Planning, Not Summit Improvisation

Jannike Wachowiak

Without careful preparation and raised ambitions, the 2026 summit risks becoming a missed opportunity to inject real momentum into UK-EU relations.

Brazil in the Labyrinth: State, Democracy and Inequality

Francisco Gaetani

As Brazil approaches crucial elections, the country must confront deep structural challenges that have undermined democratic progress for decades.

Why Europe Should Be Serious About Transparency on Pay

Marianna Baggio and Christine Aumayr-Pintar

The EU's Pay Transparency Directive offers a powerful tool for equality, but only if member states implement it with rigour and ambition.

Europe’s Industrial Crisis: Invest Now or Accept Decline

Judith Kirton-Darling and Isabelle Barthès

Across 18 sectors, only aerospace and defence remain globally competitive—Europe must abandon naivety and act decisively.

Trump’s Ukraine Deal Is the Wrong Way to Peace in Ukraine

Timothy Snyder

Timothy Snyder thinks the proposed settlement negotiated by Russia and the US would make the world far more dangerous.

France’s Democratic Malaise: Stop Blaming Citizens, Start Reforming Institutions

Nonna Mayer and Frédéric Gonthier

When eight in ten French citizens feel unrepresented, the problem lies not with democratic fatigue but with a political system that has forgotten how to listen.

Europe Must Abandon Appeasement and Confront Trump’s Hostile America

Guillaume Duval

The failure of European leaders' strategy of accommodation proves that Trump's United States has become an adversary, not an ally, demanding a fundamental shift in EU policy.

The Geopolitics of Knowledge: Why Europe Must Reinvest in Its Universities

Manuel Muñiz

To compete in the twenty-first century's knowledge economy, Europe must transform its higher education system into a strategic powerhouse.

Europe’s Eco-Social Union: The Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s Great Transformation

Bea Cantillon

As climate ambitions falter, Europe's unique framework for linking social and ecological goals may prove more resilient—and revolutionary—than it appears.

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S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

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

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

Back to school with HesaMag 30: the leading European magazine on occupational safety and health explores teachers’ deteriorating working conditions. With field reporting, expert voices and trade union analysis, plus insights into EU policy shifts, discover why teachers’ health is key to our future.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Mental Health
Eurofound Brussels Briefing on Mental Health in the EU

As part of its #BrusselsBriefings series, Eurofound is hosting an off-the-record session on 9 December dedicated to its recent research on mental health.
Eurofound expert Hans Dubois will present the latest findings drawing on comparative data, exploring how crises such as the Great Recession and COVID-19 have shaped mental-health outcomes, how different risk groups are evolving, and why social and economic conditions remain central drivers of poor mental health in EU countries.
REGISTER HERE TO ATTEND IN PERSON

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

Read the new book “Algorithmic rule”!”

The future is not simply digital; it is algorithmic. Read the new book “Algorithmic rule”, edited by Maja Fjaestad and Simon Vinge.
The book explores what can be described as algocracy – rule by algorithms.
We need a progressive algorithmic future – an alternative that resists surrendering sovereignty to Big Tech. Transparency is essential, but it is not enough; the deeper challenge is to ensure that citizens and workers themselves influence the algorithms that govern them.

This book is part of the FEPS–Nordic Digital Programme.

READ NOW

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. 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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