Leuven, Belgium, 22 February 2023 – WeLaR researcher Bart Vanhercke (European Social Observatory) co-edited the book Social policy in the European Union: state of play 2022. Policymaking in a permacrisis, published in January 2023 by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI).
The volume, co-edited by Sebastiano Sabato and Slavina Spasova, analyses key developments in the European social agenda and how EU and domestic policies have evolved during a time of permanent crisis, as health issues, the economic downturn and the climate crisis unfold in parallel while full-scale war had returned to the continent.
In eight chapters, contributors discuss such issues as platform work, the EU Gender Equality Strategy and the Recovery and Resilience Facility. They find that despite headwinds, important progress has been made in areas including minimum wages, occupational health and safety, labour conditions for platform workers and gender equality. Furthermore, many new social initiatives have been launched under the umbrella of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, promoting social investment, performance-based financing and a just green transition. Last but not least, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have furthered European integration by highlighting the need to stand together in the face of a common foe.
The book is an important read for anyone interested in recent developments in EU social policy and can be downloaded here.
