European social rights need more than a proclamation: Recommendations for an ambitious social summit. EPC Commentary, 15 November 2017

Heads of state and government will endorse the European Pillar of Social Rights – presented by the European Commission as “a guide towards efficient employment and social outcomes”[1] and “a compass for the renewed convergence within the euro area”[2] – at the upcoming social Summit in Gothenburg on 17 November. At the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council of 23 October, member states gave their green light to an interinstitutional proclamation of the Pillar. This is a step in the right direction and a clear victory for the Commission. Much uncertainty lingers, however, over the successful implementation of these social rights for the benefit of all Europea

Achieving social triple A: What role for EU cohesion policy1? EPC Policy Brief, 31 May 2017

Cohesion policy is considered to be one of the EU’s key instruments to strive for inclusive growth. At the same time, the impact of the economic crisis and years of austerity have put the social dimension of EU policy back on the agenda. The 2015 Five Presidents’ Report called for a ‘social triple A for Europe’, while the Commission recently presented the European Pillar of Social Rights, aiming to “serve as a compass for the renewed convergence within the euro area”. With the discussions on the EU budget and cohesion policy on the way, it is now high time to consider whether EU cohesion policy has the right tools to be a driver for social progress and deliver on the EU’s social objectives. In this Policy Brief, Claire Dhéret highlights the limitations of cohesion policy’s current functioning in addressing the new geographical divides emerging across the EU and argues that more prominence needs to be put on qualitative and human capital investment in the future. To that end, cohesion policy post 2020 will require some fundamental policy-readjustments, which also need to be embedded in a strong governance framework

Supporting Europe’s new phase of re-industrialisation

En este artículo se aborda el papel fundamental que desempeñan las actividades de fabricación en la economía europea y las dificultades a las que Europa se enfrenta para mantener una fuerte base industrial. Desde hace ya varios años dicho papel está siendo objeto de un interés renovado y ha vuelto a ocupar los primeros puestos de la agenda política. Existen varias razones para ello. La primera es que la crisis sacó a la luz la vulnerabilidad de la industria europea con respecto a las tendencias actuales de aceleración y apertura de mercados. La segunda es que la crisis puso de manifiesto importantes desequilibrios económicos; en particular, los riesgos asociados a una elevada dependencia del sector financiero y de servicios. Con este telón de fondo, los responsables de formular políticas de la UE han comenzado a reconsiderar el papel de las actividades de fabricación y a reconocer como una cuestión preocupante el declive de la producción europea. En paralelo a esta forma de pensar, una nueva retórica se ha difundido por toda Europa. Por ejemplo, La Comisión Europea ha resaltado el papel central de las actividades de fabricación para apuntalar la recuperación del crecimiento y los puestos de trabajo, así como para acometer los retos planteados por la sociedad. Para poder hacer frente a dichos retos, este artículo propone tres opciones estratégicas: (1) la promoción de nuevos modelos de negocio; (2) la creación de ecosistemas industriales a través de la innovación sistémica; y (3) el apoyo a una auténtica cadena de valor europea que, en su conjunto, podría estimular una nueva fase de reindustrialización en Europa.This paper addresses the pivotal role that manufacturing activities play in the European economy and the difficulty that Europe faces to maintain a strong industrial base. That role has been subject to a resurgence of interest for already a number years and has resurfaced at the top of the policy agenda. There are several reasons for this. First, the crisis brought out the vulnerability of the European industry into the open and accelerated on-going trends. Second, the crisis highlighted some major economic imbalances. In particular, the risks associated with a high reliance on the financial and service sectors. Against this backdrop, EU policy makers have started to re-consider the role of manufacturing activities and to recognise the decline of manufacturing production in Europe as a matter of concern. Along this line, a new rhetoric has spread all over Europe. For instance, the European Commission has highlighted the key role of manufacturing to underpin the recovery of growth and jobs and to address societal challenges. In order to cope with such challenges, this paper proposes three strategic choices: (1) the promotion of new business models; (2) the creation of industrial eco-systems through systemic innovation; and (3) the support for a genuine European value chain, which together could stimulate a new phase of re-industrialisation in Europe

Sharing the same vision – The cornerstone of a new industrial policy for Europe. EPC Discussion Paper, 20 March 2014

Claire Dhéret argues in this discussion paper that Member States should seize the opportunity offered by the 2014 March European Council to pave the way for an EU industrial policy providing the industry with what it needs most: an unambiguous and well-defined strategic plan for the decades to come. To this end, the author set the contours of three possible policy scenarios for the future of EU industrial policy in view to fostering a debate about what form a coherent strategic framework should take

Fostering social cohesion: the missing link in the EU's exit strategy from the crisis. EPC Discussion Paper, 31 March 2015

In this Discussion Paper, Claire Dhéret argues that the EU should consider the level of social cohesion as a concrete policy priority in its long-term exit strategy from the crisis

Opportunities and challenges in the area of employment, social affairs, skills and labour mobility. EPC Commentary, 30 September 2014

On 1 October 2014, Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner-designate for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, will face a European Parliament (EP) hearing. On this occasion, Thyssen will have to perform a delicate balancing act consisting of on the one hand, taking into consideration the significant budget constraints that a number of Member States are still facing and following the still prevailing political line of fiscal consolidation and sound public finances, and on the other hand, of demonstrating her strong commitment for Social Europe. In the context of the upcoming hearing, this commentary aims to outline the features, opportunities and challenges of the new portfolio related to employment and social affairs in view to providing an input into the political debate

European Pillar of Social Rights: Member states must shoulder the responsibility of delivery. EPC Commentary, 16 March 2018

The European Commission continues to pursue its goal of building a stronger social Europe with the recent publication of the Social Fairness Package. Released on 13 March, it is a follow-up to the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) adopted in November 2017

The future of work: Towards a progressive agenda for all. EPC Issue Paper 9 DECEMBER 2019

Europe’s labour markets and the world of work in general are being transformed by the megatrends of globalisation, the fragmentation of the production and value chain, demographic ageing, new societal aspirations and the digitalisation of the economy. This Issue Paper presents the findings and policy recommendations of “The future of work – Towards a progressive agenda for all”, a European Policy Centre research project. Its main objectives were to expand public knowledge about these profound changes and to reverse the negative narrative often associated with this topic. It aimed to show how human decisions and the right policies can mitigate upcoming disruptions and provide European and national policymakers with a comprehensive toolkit for a progressive agenda for the new world of work

Integrating is caring: A paradigm shift in health. EPC Policy Brief, 19 February 2019

In the past decade, Europe has experienced a positive trend of increased life expectancy. And yet this trend has not automatically translated into an increase in healthy life expectancy. The prevalence of chronic diseases and multi-morbidities has been growing at a steady pace. Adding to constraints in public resources, growing healthcare expenditure, and low economic growth, the rising burden of chronic diseases and multi-morbidities imposes a huge strain on health systems and on European societies at large

The revision of the Posted Workers Directive: towards a sufficient policy adjustment? EPC Discussion Paper, 20 April 2016

Labour mobility within the European Union continues to be a limited phenomenon. This concerns both long-term intra-EU mobility and more temporary forms of mobility such as posting of workers, i.e. workers posted to another member state in the framework of cross-border service provision. Yet, despite the limited nature of posting, this topic is far from being absent from the public and political debates. Several factors contribute to this. Firstly, a surge in the number of posted workers has been noticed over the recent years and increased attention has therefore been paid to this issue. Quite a few economic sectors, including construction, manufacturing, and social work, are very concerned by this trend. Secondly, several types of abuses have been recorded such as letter-box companies, bogus self-employment and exploitation of the posted workers' vulnerable situation. Thirdly, questions have been raised as to whether the balance struck by the EU legislator in 1996 (when adopting the Posted Workers Directive) between the freedom to provide crossborder services and the workers' social rights is still valid today. These elements highlight the need for a policy adjustment in order to preserve the legitimacy of the citizens' and workers' freedom to move and, to a certain extent, of the social dimension of the European project. In this context, the European Commission published a proposal to revise the 1996 Directive in order to strike a better balance between economic and social rights. But is this proposal sufficient to ensure a level playing field between economic actors and equal treatment between workers? How will this proposal affect the implementation of other EU initiatives aiming to tackle fraud and abuse? What else is needed to address the tensions between the Single Market principles and the EU's social objectives? This discussion paper, published in the context of the Dutch Presidency and the ongoing negotiations of a revised Directive on posted workers, focuses on these questions while proposing some concrete solutions for a fairer policy framework