All chapters of Social policy in the EU: state of play 2020 consider the consequences of the unfolding public health crisis. Covid‑19’s hijacking of the book had important implications for the contributors, whom we asked not only to analyse key developments in the EU social agenda during 2019 but also to describe the initial Covid‑19-driven EU and domestic policies between January and July 2020, thereby pushing forward the book’s time horizon by six months.
The European Social Observatory (OSE) has again worked closely with the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and renowned external scholars to draw up this year’s edition of the book. Through this collaborative publication, we aim to contribute to the debate between policymakers, social stakeholders and the research community, while providing accessible information and analysis for practitioners and students of European integration. This year’s Bilan social in many ways complements the 20th-anniversary issue of the ETUI’s Benchmarking Working Europe, which provides a state-of-the-art analysis of the impact of the pandemic on the world of work.
