In the wake of the financial and economic crisis, the trade unions face unprecedented challenges. While the European powers that be are blatantly coordinating the advent of national and European austerity policies, entailing drastic consequences for workers and the weaker members of society, the... Find out more

In October 2001, the EU formally adopted the legislation on the European Company, also known by its Latin name Societas Europaea (SE). This handbook aims to ensure that the new opportunities for employee representation at European level which these new SE rules provide, are seized. It has been... Find out more

This new publication, edited jointly by ETUI researcher Michael Stollt and Sascha Meinert from the Berlin-based Institute for Prospective Analysis (IPA), sets itself an audacious task: casting a long look forward into the future, namely the year 2030. Four alternative scenarios explore the long-term... Find out more

This year's Benchmarking Working Europe report embarks upon a social stocktaking of the reaction to and impact of the financial, economic and social crisis as a means of feeding into the post-crisis and EU2020 debate. Among the questions addressed this year are the following:What were the macro... Find out more

Many companies today seem to have become little more than money-machines, seeking the highest returns from global markets. Employees, and indeed many managers too, are the slaves rather than the masters of such companies. Works councils and trade unions are reduced to mopping up the social... Find out more

Twenty years of continuous economic growth, with annual rates of up to 10%, have significantly increased the economic and also the political weight of the People's Republic of China. Indeed, China is on the way to becoming a global economic power. However, this process of growth has produced not... Find out more

The European social model under pressure The concept of the European social model has been central to the development of the European Union. Social inclusion, social rights, social dialogue and an important role for the social partners have been recognised as key elements of Europe and are among... Find out more

A new bargaining agenda is indeed emerging, but its outline is not easy to determine because, on the one hand, monetary union precludes any wage drift and, on the other, the terms of a new deal are difficult to establish.The introduction to Social pacts in Europe - new dynamics is a set of four... Find out more

Two major events of 2004 will go down in the European history books: enlargement to take in the central and eastern European countries as well as Cyprus and Malta, and the adoption of the draft constitutional Treaty for Europe. Both of these events were subjects of debate throughout the year, since... Find out more

Will 2003 go down in the annals of European construction as a wasted year? This may appear to be a provocative question, but it is one worth posing. When we review the main events of the year, we are bound to acknowledge that Europe has failed to keeps its promises. Its political promises, with the... Find out more