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The economic crisis which began in most European countries in mid-2008 has had severe effects on labour markets. Although no country has escaped the crisis, the extent of output losses and the number of jobs lost, as well as the resulting rise in unemployment, vary considerably between countries. In order to shed light on this issue, this paper examines empirically how the current economic crisis has affected the different European economies in terms of the impact on output, and the knock-on effects, influenced by the specific institutional frameworks, on employment and unemployment.
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(July 2010)

A public hearing on the Future of European Standardisation took place in Brussels on Wednesday 23 June 2010 at which ETUI senior researcher Stefano Boy was invited to comment on the role of standardisation in promoting higher standards of health and safety in the workplace.
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(July 2010)

The third ETUI Policy Brief European Economic and Employment Policy in 2010 analyses the performance of European countries in the crisis according to their levels of flexibility and security. To this end, the author, Andranik Tangian, of the Institute for Social Research at the Hans-Böckler Foundation (WSI), develops and applies composite indicators of the impact of the crisis, flexibility and security. Overall, the analysis shows that countries with high flexibility rankings have performed comparatively poorly in the crisis. Generous security systems, by contrast, have served to mitigate its negative impact in a number of cases. The findings suggest that flexicurity in its current form does not pass the test imposed by the crisis and requires revision in the direction of a 'normalisation' of employment relations.
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(July 2010)

The recent global recession has had differing effects on wages across Europe. This paper presents wage patterns for EU countries since the impact of the financial crisis, and compares them to previous trends. Wages in the countries hardest hit by the recession have underperformed when compared to past developments. The role of wages in determining international competitiveness is also examined and the importance of the general price level as opposed to wage levels is highlighted.
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(July 2010)

On 24th June the ETUI organised, together with Sbilanciamoci!, a conference entitled Quale economia dopo la crisi? (What sort of economy after the crisis?) at the University of Rome La Sapienza. The new ETUI/Sbilanciamoci! book Dopo la crisi. Proposte per un’ economia sostenible was presented and gave rise to a lively discussion among the policymakers, academics, trade union leaders and students present. There was considerable echo in the Italian media. A key concern was that the progressive agenda for which there seemed to be a window of opportunity in the wake of the crisis appears to be giving way, right across Europe, to a politics of fiscal austerity, labour market ‘reform’ and cutbacks in the public sector. Yet the lessons of the crisis remain clear: a new economic and social model in Europe is needed, involving major reforms in the financial sector, stronger macroeconomic management and coordination, progressive social and labour market changes to ensure balanced sharing of productivity gains, and a range of initiatives to make production and consumption sustainable in ecological terms.
read articles : Il Manifesto 25/06/2010, Il Manifesto 27/06/2010, Rassegna.it, L’Espresso
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(July 2010)

Despite the meltdown caused by deregulation in the financial sector, the Barroso Commission continues to push Better Regulation as delivering light-touch, business-friendly lawmaking. This report explains the ins and outs of the Better Regulation agenda, and answers many of the questions raised by this programme that it is claimed will improve the EU’s legislative framework.

Is the Better Regulation agenda a real way of improving EU governance? Can it add something extra to the work of the European institutions and Member States? Will it change the relationship between stakeholders and their relationships with citizens?

Eric Van den Abeele
Guest researcher at the Observatoire social européen and temporary lecturer at the University of Mons-Hainaut
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(June 2010)

In his latest column published on the Social Europe Journal website, ETUI senior researcher Andrew Watt expresses profound concern about the imminent and substantial fiscal consolidation measures recently announced in many European countries. He argues that these policies bring a serious risk of a renewed recession, just as signs of recovery and labour market stabilisation were beginning to appear. They will also have negative distributional consequences and rely ultimately on increasing net exports, a strategy that cannot work given global imbalances. European solutions are needed rather than every country for itself.
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(June 2010)

Even before the current spate of fiscal crises among euro area countries, Iceland faced a debt crisis following the implosion of its banking system. This ETUI Policy Brief considers the lessons to be drawn from Iceland's experience. An insolvency procedure needs to be set up to deal with sovereign debt disputes that is independent, fair and comprehensive, treating all creditors equally. A debt work-out mechanism is needed which assesses the underlying causes of the distressed debt, taking creditors’ responsibilities into account.

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(June 2010)

This policy brief highlights a pressing issue facing social policies in the EU, namely, the articulation between social justice and environmental concerns. The author argues that environmental policies should be embedded in social policies, so that true ‘social-ecological policies’ can emerge. He first defines the notion of ‘environmental justice’ and characterizes contemporary forms of environmental inequality. In what follows two dimensions of the challenges faced are addressed in the context of the different European social models, namely, vulnerability and exposure to environmental risk, on the one hand, and social fairness in environmental taxation, on the other.
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(June 2010)

The marketing of chemicals – especially those that could harm human health - has been regulated by REACH since 1 June 2007. Not that implementing this law will automatically mean better prevention of workplace chemical risks. Real progress, which includes outlawing the most toxic chemicals from workplaces, will not happen unless union representatives take ownership of the law. This booklet means to help them do that vital front-line job.
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(June 2010)