European Union

Written by Marcin Grajewski,

© viking75 / Fotolia

On 26 April, the European Commission presented a European Pillar of Social Rights, which is a package of legislative proposals and recommendations aimed at enhancing work-life balance, fostering equal opportunities and better access to the labour market, as well as improving working conditions. Under the proposal, for example, new fathers would receive 10 days of paid parental leave, and parents of young children would be entitled to flexible working arrangements.

The plan, generally welcomed by trade unions but criticised by employers’ organisations, forms part of a wider Commission drive to strengthen the social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union. This can be seen in the context of declining trust for the EU by citizens, in the wake of the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

This note offers a selection of recent studies, reports and commentaries by some of the major international think tanks and research institutes on EU social policies. More studies on the subject can be found in a previous edition of ‘What Think Tanks are thinking’.

Saving the French social model at the expense of the EU?
Clingendael, April 2017

The global decline in the labour income share: Is capital the answer to Germany’s current account surplus?
Bruegel, April 2017

Investments in green and social sectors can create 2.8 million jobs in the EU
Fondation Européenne d’Études Progressistes, April 2017

The effect of income distribution and fiscal policy on growth, investment, and budget balance: The case of Europe
Fondation Européenne d’Études Progressistes, April 2017

Social investment first! A precondition for a modern social Europe
European Policy Centre, March 2017

Closing routes to retirement: how do people respond?
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, March 2017

The role of aggregate preferences for labor supply: Evidence from low-paid employment
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, March 2017

Social harmonization and labor market performance in Europe
Center for Social and Economic Research, March 2017

Social harmonization in the eyes of Polish stakeholders: in search of consensus
Center for Social and Economic Research, March 2017

Listened to, but not heard? Social partners’ multilevel involvement in the European Semester
European Social Observatory, March 2017

Social policy in the EU: Reform barometer 2016. Social inclusion monitor Europe
Bertelsmann Stiftung, European Bureau for Policy Consulting and Social Research, University of St. Gallen, February 2017

Promouvoir l’Europe sociale: La quête du progrès pendant “l’ère Delors”
Notre Europe, February 2017

Women’s economic empowerment at international level
Overseas Development Institute, February 2017

Ambiguities of social Europe: Political agenda setting among trade unionists from Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe
Max Planck Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung, February 2017

Feasibility and added value of a European unemployment benefits scheme
Centre for European Policy Studies, February 2017

Design of a European unemployment benefit scheme
Centre for European Policy Studies, February 2017

Europe’s new social reality: The case against universal basic income
Policy Network, February 2017

L’introduction du salaire minimum en Allemagne: Un premier bilan
Institut français des relations internationales, February 2017

Les clés d’un nouveau modèle social: La révolution du revenu universel
La Vie des Idées, February 2017

Comment financer le revenu universel?
La Vie des Idées, February 2017

Les jeunes, ces citoyens de seconde zone
La Vie des Idées, February 2017

Should pensions be redistributive? The impact of Spanish reforms on the system’s sustainability and adequacy
Fundación de Estudios de Economía Aplicada, February 2017

British business strategy, EU social and employment policy and the emerging politics of Brexit
Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute, February 2017

Social Policy in the European Union: State of play
European Trade Union Institute, January 2017

Towards a European pillar of social rights: Upgrading the EU social acquis
College of Europe, January 2017

The free movement of people: Principle, stakes and challenges
Fondation Robert Schuman, January 2017

Contextual determinants of citizens’ support for gender equality in leadership positions across Europe
Mannheimer Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung, January 2017

Effectiveness of early retirement disincentives: Individual welfare, distributional and fiscal implications
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, January 2017

Why is it so hard to reach the EU’s ‘poverty’ target?
Bruegel, January 2017

A European unemployment benefits scheme: Lessons from Canada
Centre for European Policy Studies, January 2017

Will a European unemployment benefits scheme affect labour mobility?
Centre for European Policy Studies, December 2016

Personal pensions in the European Union
Lithuanian Free Market Institute, December 2016

The future of work: Challenges for men and women
Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, November 2016

Rethinking the EU’s investment strategy: EFSI 2.0 needs a Social Pillar to address economic insecurity
European Policy Centre, November 2016

What is the cost of total pension provision and who pays the bill? Cross-national comparison of pension contributions
Finnish Centre for Pensions, November 2016

The reform of the posted workers directive
Fondation Robert Schuman, October 2016

An anatomy of inclusive growth in Europe
Bruegel, October 2017

Chances and risks of a European unemployment benefit scheme
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, October 2016

Paternity and parental leave policies across the European Union
Rand Europe, October 2016

Maternity leave policies: Trade-offs between labour market demands and health benefits for children
Rand Europe, October 2016

What role can minimum wages play in overcoming the low-wage model in Central and Eastern Europe?
European Trade Union Institute, October 2016

Is there such a thing as “Social Europe”?
Notre Europe, September 2016

Automatic stabilizers for the euro area and the European social model
Notre Europe, September 2016

Social Europe at a crossroads
Clingendael, September 2016

The stabilisation properties of a European unemployment benefits scheme
Centre for European Policy Studies, September 2016

Equal rights for all families: Applying human rights principles in national and EU policy-making
Foundation for European Progressive Studies, September 2016

Social Europe, but how? A view from Sweden
Clingendael, July 2015

Labour mobility in the EU: Addressing challenges and ensuring ‘fair mobility’
Centre for European Policy Studies, July 2016

A web tool-based equal gender pay analysis for a competitive Europe (equal pacE): Overview, elements and lessons learned
Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln, July 2016

Labour market and social policy in Italy: Challenges and changes
Bertelsmann Stiftung, June 2016

The European pillar of social rights: Critical legal analysis and proposals
European Trade Union Institute, June 2016

Too little, too late? Evaluating the European Works Councils Recast directive
European Trade Union Institute, June 2016

Access to social benefits for EU mobile citizens: “Tourism” or myth?
Notre Europe, June 2016

Social benefits and cross-border mobility
Notre Europe, June 2016

Filed under: Economic and Social Policies, PUBLICATIONS Tagged: briefings, economic and monetary union (EMU), labour market, Marcin Grajewski, social policy, social rights, what think tanks are thinking, work-life balance

On 13 March 2017, the Council adopted Council Decision (CFSP) 2017/445 [1]. The Council Decision extends the existing restrictive measures until 15 September 2017. The measures in question are asset freezes and travel bans against persons and entities responsible for actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.

The Candidate Countries Montenegro* and Albania*, and the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine align themselves with this Council Decision.

They will ensure that their national policies conform to this Council Decision.

The European Union takes note of this commitment and welcomes it.

[1] Published on 14.03.2017 in the Official Journal of the European Union no. L67, p. 88.

* Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

The French people have elected you as their President.

It is a pleasure to extend my wholehearted congratulations on your election as President of the French Republic. On behalf of the European Council and personally, I wish you every success.

France has always played a central role in the construction and development of the European Union. With you as President, I am confident that France will continue to contribute constructively in solving our common challenges and maintaining our unity. France is essential for Europe, as Europe is for France.

I look forward to welcoming you at our next meeting of the European Council.

On behalf of the European Council, I wish to warmly congratulate you on your reappointment as Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria.

I am confident that your government will provide Bulgaria with stability conducive to the continued development of your country as well as the European Union.

I am glad that we had the opportunity to hold a phone conversation shortly after your reappointment, in which, among other things, we discussed the situation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. As a member of the European Union and upcoming holder of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Bulgaria plays a particularly active role in supporting stability and strengthening the democratic processes in its neighbourhood.

I look forward to once again working closely with you, and I wish you every success.

Written by Etienne Bassot,

Has the European Union made a difference to your life? If you are an EU citizen, the answer is certainly ‘yes’. The European Union is constantly working to improve the lives of European citizens. More than 500 million people in the EU Member States see their work, study, leisure and family lives benefiting in many ways, large or small, from the policies and legislation of the European Union.

The European Parliament makes an essential, and often decisive, contribution to shaping those laws and policies. Parliament’s 751 Members represent each and every European citizen, ensuring that decisions which affect them are taken not by unknown officials but by the democratically elected representatives of the citizens of all Member States. Members of the European Parliament continue today to focus on closing any gap between their constituents’ expectations and what the EU delivers.

Download our compendium of At a glance notes prepared for these open days (available in DE, EN, FR and NL)

The ideals behind the European Union: human dignity and human rights; freedom and democracy; and respect for the rule of law; underpin all its actions, and with these values firmly in mind the European Parliament makes, debates, revises or rejects, EU laws and policies. Parliament works with Council and Commission to seek consensus between all Member States on the best way to ensure all citizens enjoy the protection of their rights and the opportunity to live their lives in freedom and prosperity.

On 6 May 2017, the European Parliament is holding its annual Open Days, giving European citizens the opportunity to visit their Parliament to see what it does and how it works. A second Open Days event is planned in Strasbourg on 14 May 2017. If you are unable to travel to Brussels or Strasbourg, why not take a look at our briefing notes? These give a small sample of the many areas in which EU action has helped to improve – and continues to benefit – the lives of men and women, young and old across the European Union.

Filed under: BLOG Tagged: At a glance, citizens, Etienne Bassot, EU institutions

Since the end of the Cold war the nuclear crisis in the Korean peninsula has become the most dangerous challenge to international stability, security and peace. The nuclear and ballistic programmes of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) have dangerously improved since the beginning of the decade and seem to have accelerated since 2014 in spite of the continuous strengthening of the international sanctions regime against Pyongyang’s Weapons of Mass Destruction programmes.
Accordingly, tensions have risen dramatically in the Korean peninsula. In the current context, the resumption of the six-party talks - deadlocked since the spring of 2007 - remains very hypothetical. It is clearly dependent on a change of attitude on Pyongyang's part, something hardly predictable.
Even if 'strategic patience' towards North Korea has been challenged for some time, it may be that there is no better alternative to this policy. Comprehensively conceived, it should be understood as a strong policy of containment of the North Korean nuclear crisis in order to make possible the return of Pyongyang to negotiations.
As a subsidiary issue, it could be asked whether the EU could play a renewed role as regards to nuclear and ballistic proliferation in North East Asia.
Further information
Study: Nuclear Proliferation in North East Asia
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Emmanuel Macron is entering Sunday's second round of voting in the French presidential elections as the favourite. Recent polls give the candidate of the movement En Marche! a 20-point lead over his rival Marine Le Pen, leader of the Front National. The significance of the election extends far beyond France and the next five years, commentators believe.

The citizens' fight against corruption in Romania continues. Hundreds of people once again took to the streets on Wednesday - and achieved a stage victory: the Senate's legal committee withdrew its support for a draft law for an amnesty that would have seen people convicted of corruption released from prison. But Romanian journalists explain that the people haven't won the battle yet.

The political crisis sparked by the financial problems of the ailing Agrokor group is coming to a head in Croatia. The ruling coalition comprising the right-wing conservative HDZ and the reform party Most has collapsed due to criticism of Finance Minister Zdravko Marić's ties to the group. Prime Minister Plenković now wants to continue governing without Most, and Marić has only narrowly survived a vote of no confidence. Commentators accuse politicians of plunging the country into chaos.