The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed structural inequalities in healthcare capacity across EU Member States threatening convergence in healthcare - where central and eastern Member States with lower health indicators had been catching up with more affluent Member States in a number of areas. This could have serious consequences for economies, labour markets and cohesion across the Union.
The social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis threaten to roll back recent progress in gender equality, including an overall trend of upward convergence.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown societies around the world into flux and threatens to undo some of the positive progress that has taken place in recent years. However decreasing levels of societal tensions, such has been the case in Greece, may be a positive indicator of strengthening solidarity in society which is important in these difficult times.
The new von der Leyen Commission took office on 1 December 2019. Having adopted its first work programme on 29 January 2020, the Commission sets out its plans for a transition to a fair, climate-neutral and digital Europe. It outlines six top priorities. Eurofound’s work directly feeds into a number of these key areas aimed at creating a strong social Europe.
Strong upward convergence in employment and socioeconomic conditions has emerged between EU Member States over the past 20 years despite the negative effects of the economic crisis, according to new research from Eurofound.
The votes have been cast, tallied and declared and we can now see the political landscape of the new European Parliament. To what extent have mixed developments in employment and quality of life contributed to the more fractured political landscape? And can the EU continue to deliver to the more diverse demands of citizens across Europe?
Europe is back on track towards upward convergence, but some outliers remain.
20 October is European Statistics Day, an initiative of the European Statistical Advisory Committee (ESAC) and with the support of the members of the European Statistical System and the European System of Central Banks.
The Foundation Forum 2017 on 14-15 November will bring together up to 200 experts, policymakers, employer and worker representatives, national governments, thinkers and practitioners in Dublin Castle to hammer out the issues around upward convergence as a common goal of social convergence in living and working conditions in the European Union.
The Great Recession has had significant and lasting effects on European labour markets, with a big drop in employment levels, which are yet to recover in many countries almost a decade later. It also affected the employment structure, accelerating structural change and generalising a pattern of job polarisation across Europe, in which employment in mid-paid jobs declined more than in jobs at the t
In the following blog piece, originally posted on Social Europe, Eurofound Head of Information and Communication Mary McCaughey takes a look at what it was like to live and work in Europe in 2016.
2016 was a landmark year for Europe, both politically and economically. Eurofound's 2016 yearbook shows the latest developments in the work and lives of Europeans, describing trends and transitions in the areas of employment and jobs, workplace practices, working life and quality of life.
