Dossiers & Debates

COP30: looking past the elephant in the room

This November, COP30 took place in Belém, Brazil - symbolically at the edge of the Amazon, and against a complex backdrop of international geopolitical and trade tensions, the withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement, and a glaring gap in ambition and implementation in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted by countries this year. While […]

Benefits for all? The EU's international partnerships

In an era of dramatic geopolitical change and increasing multipolarism, the European Union's approach to international partnerships is shifting towards a new model. The goal, at least on paper, is to pursue the Union's strategic interests while simultaneously delivering genuine development, mutual benefits and added value for its partners – against a backdrop of shared rules […]

Has peace still a chance?

Against the backdrop of a changing world order, where the norms established by the international community after World War II are eroded without being replaced by new, more up-to-date rules, the very idea of peace is increasingly disregarded if not directly threatened. Certainly, the idea of peace is not immutable. Throughout the 20th century, we have […]

The next MFF: turning the glue into solvent?

In July, the European Commission submitted a proposal for the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) from 2028 to 2034. This opens a negotiation process between the European Parliament and the member states in the Council, which will last many months before any agreement can be reached. The MFF is important because it sets long-term budget priorities […]

BRICS: navigating global ambitions and geopolitical tides

16 years after its inaugural leaders' summit, the BRICS+ will hold its 17th summit in Rio de Janeiro from 6-7 July. It will be the first time the bloc meets as a 11-nation group, after incorporating Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2024, and Indonesia in 2025. For the BRICS it […]

European Social Democracy – becoming a transformative force at historical crossroads

The world around us is changing rapidly. Many elements of this change are due to the pressure resulting from the polycrisis. Particularly, traditional political forces seem to grow feeble, and the resulting image of their disempowerment translates into distrust and falling electoral numbers. Visibly, among these, Social Democrats are struggling. This Progressive Post 'Next Left' dossier […]

The far right and the conquest of education

While education is commonly understood as a force that can create equal opportunities, the way education systems are designed impacts how they can promote and propagate diverse values and can even reinforce inequalities. Far-right forces in Europe and beyond are trying to redesign education systems and programmes in order to promote their own illiberal and authoritarian […]

Stronger together!

LGBTIQ+ rights vs anti-gender movements Equality and non-discrimination are enshrined in European treaties and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. In the last decades, this has resulted in an unprecedented level of acknowledgement of LGBTIQ+ rights, at least in principle.  However, 'anti-gender' movements are on the rise too. Conservative and illiberal forces are hijacking the very […]

Tariffs, counter-tariffs and a pause on tariffs

Europe and the first round of trade wars Never before have tariffs garnered such intense public attention. And what was unimaginable in the past – that the fiercest assault on free trade would come from the US, long considered the stronger defender of free markets and laissez-faire principles – has become reality. In addition, US President […]

European defence: between a rock and a hard place

At the latest since US Vice President JD Vance's speech at the Munich Security Conference, European leaders are reacting hastily to decisions of the US government regarding the war in Ukraine and transatlantic military cooperation. After years of delay and procrastination, once again, what Jean Monnet taught us about the European Union seems to be confirmed: […]

Taming the algorithms to protect workers’ rights

At a time when the European Commission proposes to roll back on regulation for the sake of competitiveness – as reflected once again in the announcements made during the Paris AI Action Summit finishing today – the new digital reality demands new rules to protect workers. Due to the digital transformation, the world of work is […]

Blunt weapons? Europe's fight against corruption

The record of the EU member states on the rule of law is diverse. On the European continent, some of the most virtuous countries in the world cohabit with states that traditionally struggle with systemic corruption. They also cohabit with governments that wittingly challenge, if not dismantle, the rule of law. Corruption is not just a […]

The demographic transition: risks and potentials

Europe has entered an advanced phase of the demographic transition: the shift from a society with high birth rates and high death rates to one where both are declining. These trends translate into an ageing population, profound changes in the social structures of European countries, and an imbalance between the working-age population and elderly people, which […]

The far right demolishes the welfare state

In many EU member states governed by the right and far right, citizens are suffering the continuous and consistent dismantling of public and social services, labour protections and rights. In complete opposition to the far right's pro-workers rhetoric, once in government, they tend to adopt an increasingly paternalistic, identity-based and corporatist approach. These attacks on the […]

Housing is a human right

The housing crisis in Europe is becoming increasingly urgent. In the past, it mainly affected low-income and vulnerable categories (including workers, migrants, youth and single parents). Today, however, middle-income groups too often see half of their salaries eaten up by rents or mortgages. Housing insecurity and housing costs also impact people's health and well-being. In the […]

A single market with a social face

There's a big talk in Brussels and in some national capitals about boosting the European single market to promote the EU's industries and its global competitiveness. The question, however, is: for what, precisely, do we want to be competitive? In this dossier, the Progressive Post wants to remind EU decision-makers and stakeholders that relaunching one of […]

Protecting democracy from digital disinformation

In this year of super-elections, with the European elections in June and the US presidential election in November, the question of defending liberal democracies and electoral processes from the escalating threat of ever-more sophisticated digital manipulation and disinformation has become paramount. In this new dossier, we analyse how disinformation tactics – often carried out by foreign […]

The fight for EU social rights

European integration has long been skewed towards the economy. Proposals for parallel social integration have been around for many years but only got a real boost with the proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights in 2017. In the electoral year to come, its 20 principles on equal opportunities and access to the labour market, […]

Women in politics: beyond representation

Women in politics do make a difference. It is not just a question of fair representation of half of mankind, of quotas and seats in parliament. Obviously, women's underrepresentation at all levels of decision-making constitutes a severe democratic deficit, and gender parity is still far from being achieved all over the world. Yet, besides these significant […]

Ukraine: two years of full-scale war. Between Ukraine's resolve and allies' indecisiveness

Ukraine is entering the third year of Russia's full-scale war on its territory – and the tenth of Russian warfare against the country. The battlefield situation looks more critical than ever, and the future seems even bleaker as the crucial US support starts faltering and the EU lacks the capacity to step in, certainly in terms […]

The art of progressive governance in turbulent times

There is a pertinent, reoccurring question: can one govern in a distinctive progressive manner in turbulent times such as the contemporary ones? It is often suggested that it is difficult. A paste of profound changes in the global context, many external and internal pressures alongside various crises (amounting even to a 'polycrisis') would make it close […]

EU fiscal rules: more democracy and ambition!

The reform of the EU fiscal rules will dominate the Brussels agenda until the end of this year. The Commission proposal is a significant improvement compared to the original framework, but is not ambitious enough in terms of enabling the green and social transition. It does not have explicit room for green investment nor a link […]

Turkey's 100th anniversary: domestic polarisation and international constraints

This 29 October 2023, the Republic of Turkey will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Yet, this year, the remarkable accomplishment of building a modern state from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, will be commemorated with less enthusiasm and in the flagrant absence of grand official celebrations.

Progressive cities in Europe: inclusive and sustainable

The need for a sustainable and inclusive future is felt everywhere, especially at the grassroots level – and that, oftentimes, means at the level of the cities and towns where people actually live. In Europe, it's the progressives-led cities and towns that are at the forefront of making that inclusive and sustainable change happen in real-time. […]

EU-Latin America: an often-overlooked relationship moves centre-stage

A few usual suspects (Nicaragua, but also Cuba and Venezuela) might have been the most visible in watering down language on Russia's war in Ukraine in the final declarations of the EU-Latin America summit earlier this week – but the war has pushed many other Latin American nations to break free from the traditional alignment of […]

Migration: moving away from containment

In the blatant absence of better ideas, and against the backdrop of irreconcilable interests, the approach of the European Union and its member states to migration and asylum is increasingly focusing on the externalisation of their management and on the returns of all those people who do not qualify for protection. This means asking the EU's […]

Regulating AI: a technological as well as a political feat

Ever since Chat GTP became mainstream, the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been hotly debated in the media, politics and academia. The call to regulate its development has been growing stronger, even from the leading developers of AI themselves. The fear that an unchecked arms race in AI development could wreak havoc on society is […]

Nature and us: why biodiversity matters

Today, the world celebrates the International Day for Biological Diversity. Humans need healthy and vibrant ecosystems for their own survival. They need food, water and clean air. But because of our destructive, utilitarian and exploitative attitude towards nature, we represent the biggest threat to biodiversity conservation. It is not just about preventing the extinction of some […]

Increasing social investment to fight Roma exclusion

Since 1990, for over 30 years now, every 8 April, International Roma Days come and go. But the poverty and inequality Roma communities suffer in Europe and beyond have barely changed. That is shown by the findings of a recent Roma survey of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights. And it is although Roma are subject […]

Is the centre-right still 'centre'?

A dam seems to be cracking more and more and it might soon come to the point of breaking: European centre-right parties are increasingly willing to either team up with far-right parties to form government coalitions – or at least to govern with far-right parties' support, as happened recently in Sweden. Or, in a much more […]

What does feminist foreign policy mean for progressives?

On Wednesday 1 March, a week before International Women's Day, the centre-left German government announced the guidelines for the pursuit of its new feminist foreign policy. But what does exactly a feminist foreign policy entail? What potential does it offer? What are its likely criticalities? And what are the challenges that lie ahead? In this new […]

Unbroken Ukraine. 365 days

One year of war has not broken Ukraine and its people. Unexpectedly, the country has withstood Russian aggression. Its cities are the object of strikes and carry the deep scars of the bombing. Some have been captured by the Russian armies and others have been liberated by the Ukrainian forces. The Ukrainian population is suffering the […]

Can work be compatible with well-being?

While the Covid-19 pandemic seems behind us without really being so, and while for many workers, many aspects of reality seem pretty much the same now as we knew it before, long-term effects on the work floor seem to be lingering, notably concerning health and well-being, but also work-life balance, work motivation and career prospects. Among […]

Never let a good polycrisis go to waste!

The war in Ukraine is just the last one of the multiple crises, most of them of exogenous nature, that are shaking the world order and challenging the European Union. Increasing power competition, the emergence of alternative development models – like the Chinese – and multiple centres of gravity, and the irrelevance or the lack of […]

Next Left: a search for hope and confidence in dire times

There is no shortage of challenges. The war in Ukraine continues to influence European economies when they are expected to perform and prevent shortages of goods. And while the apparent cost of living crisis makes citizens worry about persevering through the winter, and public systems have not recovered from the Covid era, some profit from the […]

Moving towards a healthier Union

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Union is gearing up to create a real Health Union. It aims at making the EU future-proof for health crises to come, at protecting the health of Europeans and, even more importantly, at responding to cross-border health crises in a collective way. Many questions, however, remain open: […]

The state of the Union, 30 years after Maastricht

Last week, in her yearly State of the Union address, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appealed to the 'spirit of Maastricht' to overcome the challenges the European Union is currently facing. 30 years after the treaty that turned the Communities into a Union, however, the EU remains a largely incomplete project. And the rules that […]

Western Balkans: a rough route to EU integration

This week's European Council will make crucial decisions concerning EU enlargement. The application of war-torn Ukraine – together with those of Moldova and Georgia – has been in the spotlight, shadowing the Western Balkan countries' aspirations and raising their legitimate concerns about their long-promised European perspective. The accession process of the six Western Balkan countries has […]

Europe’s energy challenge

Russia’s war against Ukraine has disrupted energy markets and impacted the geopolitics of energy. As a consequence, oil and gas prices have reached their highest levels in a decade and have forced many countries to reshuffle their energy supplies. The war can be described as a hydrocarbon war, as the money coming from the export of fossil […]

A greater role for rural areas

A pervasive sense of disenfranchisement haunts rural areas all over the European Union: many people in remote places feel they are not being heard, their voices are not considered, and their specific issues never make it into the political agenda. And oftentimes, as voters, they are tempted by radical populists who promise to make their grievances […]

From housing crisis to housing right

Europe is going through a housing crisis. Lower and middle-income families are priced out of gentrifying neighbourhoods. Homelessness is becoming endemic in most urban centres. People are dispossessed of their cities as the financial sector speculates, turning what should be a right for everyone into a financial asset. However, opportunities to revert this trend do exist. […]

The Russian gamble and the international order

Europe is undergoing its largest conflict since World War II. Ukrainian cities are shelled, hundreds of people have lost their lives and millions are fleeing their country. The European Union is called to provide quick and robust answers to the Russian aggression and Ukraine's need for support, and to readjust itself to an international order that […]

EU defence: a turning point

The Russian aggression has turned Ukraine into the theatre of a new tragic conflict on European soil. This crisis adds to other emergency situations that have exposed the EU’s inadequacy or unpreparedness to respond to international security challenges. Against this background, the EU and its member states need to address pressing questions concerning the future of […]

EU's Russia strategy: quo vadis?

The current danger of an escalation of tension in Ukraine raises many questions for the entire European continent. Among the questions the European Union will have to answer on its own is the one of its stance towards Russia.The two authors of this debate agree very much on the need for dialogue, but differ on the […]

Integration of migrants: the path to social cohesion

Years after the humanitarian emergency of 2015-16, the debate over migration is still very polarised. It continues to be instrumentalised by policymakers and is still portrayed as an emergency and a threat, even if the number of asylum seekers and migrants trying to get into the EU are just a few thousands, as those, recently, coming […]

Debriefing the digital decade

The current decade is meant to become Europe’s Digital Decade. Yet, Europe is facing a twin transition: green and digital. If successful, this transition will radically change the face of the European economy. But whereas the goal of the green transition is clear – carbon neutrality by 2050 – this is not the case for the […]

Changing the EU's fiscal rules

Among the different actions taken by the European Commission in the aftermath of the pandemic, the suspension of the fiscal rules may represent a change as big and as relevant as the much more acclaimed Next Generation EU. Several governments have already hinted that they don't wish to go back to the same rules, once – in […]

EU-US: Love no more

Despite their expectations – however lukewarm they may have been – that relations between the US and the EU would take a more cooperative turn with Joe Biden at the helm of the American administration, European policymakers are now facing a huge disenchantment. And they must come to terms with the fact that not only their […]

Eastern discomfort and progressive ways out

At the beginning of the century, centre-left was the dominant force in the Central and Eastern European region. It was at the helm of the accession negotiations of many of the states that would join the EU in 2004 and after. Less than two decades later, the picture couldn’t be more different. Elections are bringing new […]

Strategic Autonomy

Facing a multitude of crises, the EU has placed strategic autonomy at the heart of its external action. The Union's quest for autonomy, which embodies its desire to enhance its capacity to act according to its own laws, interests and values in a world increasingly defined by geopolitical competition, has only been given additional credence by […]

Turning the EU's climate ambition into reality

"It’s time to wake up. To take notice. To raise our voices. It’s time to build back better for People and Planet" – against the backdrop of the current COVID19-induced crisis, the motto of this year's UN #WorldEnvironmentDay couldn't have been chosen better! Indeed, while the European Union's COVID-19 Recovery Plan does have some green strings […]

Out of the stalemate: changing the approach to enlargement

The process of EU-enlargement to the Western Balkans, in spite of public statements and initiatives, is in a stalemate. This feeds frustrations and disillusionment, but also illiberal drifts and the always-brewing nationalist temptations in those countries that see the prospect of accession shifting toward an increasingly uncertain future. Against this backdrop it is high time for […]

Politics of recovery - a chance for the centre-left

The path to recovery after the Covid-pandemic is paved with hopes, but also with questions. The European Union agreed on the largest ever aid and investment plan. But many ponder if, really, it will help advancing the cause of equality, sustainability and social justice for all. The sentiment of solidarity and the readiness to take part […]

Social rights for the platform workers

Digital technology in the workplace is often associated with increasing precariousness of work and worsening working conditions. This is perhaps most visible in the platform economy, where online platforms control in detail how workers carry out their tasks, while the latter often lack access to social protection and collective bargaining. And yet, this is part of […]

Beyond Capitalism

Today's capitalism is in a deep crisis. Neither does it fulfil on its promise of generalised prosperity, nor is it environmentally sustainable. Human suffering in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis continues, with people losing their lives and others their sources of income. At the same time, stock markets seem to continue indicating healthy growth levels. […]

The fight against education inequality- for a stronger European response

If there was anything positive about the Covid-19 pandemic, it is that we have been reminded of the importance of public services and the access to essential and quality services from education to healthcare. In this crisis, educational and care workers have regained the recognition they had lost a long time ago. However, besides its ongoing […]

Left and right in today's Israel

One of the EU's close neighbours, Israel, is gearing up for its fourth legislative elections in less than two years. It is a long-standing economic and trade partner of the EU, but relations with it are always overshadowed by the still unsolved conflict with the Palestinians and the vanishing of any real prospects for the peace process, […]

New Pact on Migration and Asylum

Today is International Migrant's Day, as every 18 December since the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families on 18 December 1990. 30 years later: where does the European Union stand? It is the end of a year that will be […]

Belarus on the brink of a breakthrough

For over four months, Belarusian citizens take to the streets in droves. The protests have been triggered by what they considered a stolen presidential election. It began on 9 August, right after the election, with a massive mobilisation of young people, women, and workers. The forceful democratic uprising is a breakthrough: a moment of hope the people can […]

Care economy and gender pay gap

Today, 4 November, marks the EU’s Equal Pay Day. In the EU and the UK, women earn 16% less than men on average per hour. That's why, based on this calculation, today women in the EU symbolically start working for free compared to men. The gender pay gap can be explained by multiple causes, but undeniably […]

The 50th anniversary of Salvador Allende's election victory

On 4 September 1970, exactly 50 years ago, the Socialist doctor Salvador Allende won the presidential elections in Chile. It was a victory against the backdrop of the cold war and despite heavy meddling of US state agencies and private companies. And it was the first time in Latin America that a Socialist came to power […]

Roma Integration

A new EU Framework for Roma Integration policies is in the making – now is the time to avoid past mistakes!   The current EU Framework for Roma Integration policies runs out this year. The EC is committed to renewing it for another decade. The current one however has triggered a massive increase in Roma-related institutional activity, but little […]

Defeating Covid-19 - investing in the Green Deal

"It’s time to wake up. To take notice. To raise our voices. It’s time to build back better for People and Planet" – against the backdrop of the current COVID19-induced crisis, the motto of this year's UN #WorldEnvironmentDay couldn't have been chosen better! Indeed, while the European Union's COVID-19 Recovery Plan does have some green strings […]