Economy & Jobs
MEPs back one-year trade liberalisation with Ukraine
The European Parliament has endorsed the suspension for one year of all tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian exports, including agricultural products, processed agricultural products, and fruit and vegetables.
Four-day work week: How competitive is mental health?
The Brussels economic policy crowd seems to be positively inclined towards the idea of a four day work week if a recent debate at the Brussels Economic Forum is anything to go by.
EU Commission proposes Ukraine reconstruction platform
Along with a €9 billion increase in short-term budgetary aid to the Ukrainian government, the European Commission proposed on Wednesday (18 May) setting up a reconstruction platform for Ukraine to help with the massive financing needs of rebuilding the country.
France effective in combatting financial crime, though some critical gaps remain
France ranks among the top OECD countries in the effective tackling of financial crime, the Financial Action Task Force’s latest evaluation report claims. However, illicit financial dealings related to drug trafficking in French overseas territories are proving hard to combat.
Access to justice key in corporate sustainability due diligence directive, stakeholders say
Giving those harmed by multinational companies a way to seek recourse, reparation, and justice is one of the goals of the corporate sustainability due diligence directive, but in practice, it may be easier said than done.
Social Taxonomy risks death by Commission neglect
While the debate regarding the environmental taxonomy is raging between EU member state governments, the project of establishing a social taxonomy is put on the backburner by the EU Commission, according to multiple sources.
China’s economy skids as lockdowns hit factories, retailers
China's retail and factory activity fell sharply in April as wide COVID-19 lockdowns confined workers and consumers to their homes and severely disrupted supply chains, casting a long shadow over the outlook for the world's second-largest economy.
EU Commission proposes tax cut to incentivise equity investments
As most corporate tax systems in the EU currently prefer debt financing over equity and EU companies are highly indebted, the EU Commission proposed the introduction of a tax allowance that should incentivise the accrual of new equity rather than debt.
Commissioner Schmit: You cannot make money on social services
Social economy should not be thought of as an alternative to public services, according to the European Commissioner for jobs and social rights, who nevertheless argued there was a need for a "third way" between the private, profit-oriented economy and publicly provided services that can be served by social economy.
Putin says sanctions hurting West more than Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday Western countries were worse hit by sanctions imposed on Moscow over Ukraine than Russia, which he insists has been resilient in the face of "external challenges".
Swiss release some frozen Russian assets
The Swiss government on Thursday (12 May) reported 6.3 billion Swiss francs (€6.05 billion) worth of Russian assets frozen under sanctions to punish Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, a drop from early April as around 3.4 billion francs in provisionally blocked assets were released.
Mayor: The pandemic gave birth to new ideas for Dubrovnik’s future
“The time of the COVID crisis for us was a period of restart, which gave us time to rearrange, to rethink,” Mato Franković said, adding that the new projects aim to stabilise economic recovery after two years of significant losses.
The cost of market concentration
Technological progress and lax anti-trust enforcement have led to high market concentration, which in turn led to ballooning profits of some big corporations, to the detriment of economic development, economics professor Jan Eeckhout told EURACTIV in an interview.
Conservatives prepare to battle on platform workers directive, rally up with industry
Conservative MEPs from the European People's Party (EPP) are preparing their counter-offensive against the rapporteur's push for tight employment protection for platform workers, joining forces with the industry.
State of play in social economy finance in the EU
Trying to push the social economy as a flourishing sector of the economy, the EU is using a variety of ways to overcome the tension at the heart of the social economy: How do you attract money to a sector that defines itself as not being about the money?
Deliberative democracy experiment calls for Brussels involvement in education policy
As the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) ends and 49 proposals were presented to EU leadership, amongst them is the idea that Brussels gets involved in education policy, at a minimum in civics education.
Leading MEP pushes for tight employment protection in platform workers directive
Centre-left lawmaker Elisabetta Gualmini has significantly expanded provisions for platform workers to ask for employee status and the human review of algorithm management in her draft report.
French platform workers elect representatives ahead of ‘social dialogue’
Delivery workers and drivers of passenger cars working in France are being called on to elect union representatives who will conduct a 'social dialogue' with platforms like Uber and Deliveroo to improve their working conditions. EURACTIV France reports.
How Portugal became Europe’s accidental ‘bitcoin heaven’
As governments slowly shackle the crypto industry with regulations and obligations, Portugal is increasingly isolated in Europe -- a place with few rules that investors describe as a crypto paradise.
Bulgarian professor achieves dream of creating world-class tech powerhouse
In April, Bulgaria became home to INSAIT, a new Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology that aims to develop a world-class research centre, keep talent in Bulgaria, and attract outstanding international scientists by offering globally competitive research facilities and compensation.
The EU works – when it ignores its rules
Given the circumstances, the European Union's economy is doing reasonably well. However, this success currently relies on the EU circumventing its own rules, putting into question how sensible they are in the first place.
EU starts negotiations on distortive foreign subsidies regulation
The European Parliament and EU governments on Wednesday (4 May) each agreed their negotiating position on a proposal aimed at levelling the playing field for European companies facing competition from foreign companies that receive financial support in their home countries.
Commission pitches post-war recovery plan for Ukraine
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday (4 May) made a pitch for a post-war recovery package for Ukraine to help it rebuild after the war Russia is waging on its neighbour ends.