This Working Paper aims to shed light on the machinations behind recent developments regarding the Better Regulation agenda. How should we interpret the Commission’s insistence on relentlessly attacking its own legislation? Why does it constantly refer to the costs, yet never once mention the... Find out more

While the European intersectoral social dialogue has been, according to the Commission’s own admission, dragging its feet for the last few years on account of a lack of commitment on the part of the private sector employers, the sectoral social dialogue is often presented as a more dynamic and... Find out more

This report looks at the impact of the crisis on health care reform patterns in ten EU countries (France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden and the UK-England). It assesses the changing allocation of responsibilities for regulation, financing, and provision... Find out more

This working paper reviews the findings of the most prominent studies on the economic impact of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), focussing on those commissioned by the European Commission and by the German government. It casts doubt on the methods used and concludes that... Find out more

Based on a comparative survey of members of fourteen European trade unions in twelve countries, this working paper tries to answer the questions why people retain their trade union membership in times of declining unionisation. The paper shows that the presence and performance of workplace... Find out more

This Working Paper provides a qualitative assessment of one of Europe 2020's flagship initiatives: the 'European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion' (EPAP).The paper argues that a transformed EPAP has the potential to provide strong added value for the EU's toolbox in the fight against... Find out more

This working paper provides a legal analysis of the inclusion of social and environmental clauses in the modernisation of the EU's public procurement directives. It focuses in particular on Directive 2014/24/EU and evaluates the measures and provisions dealing with the obligation to comply with... Find out more

This working paper aims to give a structured gender analysis of the working and employment conditions of older workers (aged 50 and over). While working and employment conditions are increasingly recognised as key issues in ageing at work, gender disparities do still not get enough attention. Find out more

As part of the European Semester, the main pillar of Europe's new economic governance, the Commission puts forward every year the 'country-specific recommendations' (CSRs).This background analysis provides an overview of specific recommendations to the EU Member States in the field of employment and... Find out more

This report reviews the main common traits and variations of the Nordic models of labour market regulation, how they were adjusted after the crises in the 1980-90s, and how recent labour market developments have faced the actors with new challenges.The report focuses in particular on the Nordic... Find out more