European socioeconomic governance in action:Coordinating social policies in the third European Semester

Although new European Union (EU) economic coordination has changed the landscape of governance, the effects on social Europe are still being discussed. Some argue that the EU has lost track of its social aspirations, while others observe a new space for social Europe. This paper clarifies recent governance changes and their possible effects by giving a comprehensive overview of socio-economic coordination in 2013. It shows that within socioeconomic coordination distinct coordination mechanisms interact and consequently influence each other’s goals. Using qualitative content analysis techniques, the paper identifies such interactions both at the target-setting stage of coordination and at the stage of giving recommendations to individual countries. Economic coordination, in particular, has stretched to include social policy issues. Yet, the governance outcomes in terms of country-specific recommendations neither constrain nor develop the EU’s social dimension per se. This means that there is room to make economic and fiscal rules more open to social goals

AFRICAN CITIES IN THE 2020S: WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS

A series of case studies will illustrate trends in migration and urbanization in urban Africa. Weaknesses in the search for inclusivity – especially during and after COVID - refer particularly to the continuing dominant roles of urban (as well as national and global) elites in these cities and the associated high levels of urban poverty and inequality. Strengths refer particularly to the roles of the better qualified urban youth, to the spread of digital skills and means of communication, and to the presence of both global as well as national positive influences in these cities

EU coordination of welfare states after the crisis:Further interconnecting soft and hard law

After the economic shock in 2009, the European Union (EU) changed its economic governance system considerably. The question is how social policies fare within this new system. Does stricter economic governance limit the sovereignty of states to deal with social risks? To answer this question, the article determines the nature of the EU’s stricter economic governance package and explains how the interconnection between coordination mechanisms brings employment and social policy areas within the range of strengthened economic coordination. The article combines an analysis of new regulations with a study of the actual interaction between the EU and seven member states in 2011. It concludes that stricter economic governance gives the EU options to also strengthen employment and social policy coordination. Yet, the policy response of seven member states shows that there is leeway still in reacting to new EU demands