Search

FEPS Newsletter 13 Jan 2025 – ✊ Ready to take on the new year with us?

Strong start to the year – If you have problems displaying this email, follow this […]
All Topics
Search topic

13/01/2025
Strong start to the year –

If you have problems displaying this email, follow this link

Happy New Year from FEPS team! We hope you enjoyed a restful winter break and are feeling energised for the year ahead. Our commitment in 2025 is to bring you fresh analysis and inspiring arguments helping the development of progressive policies even if we now live in an era of uncertainty and global transformation.
 

The evolving political landscape in Europe and the shocks of American politics have brought us into a new reality which is easily described as dystopian. This is no time for false optimism, but one for stock taking and perhaps discussing a new strategy. Social democrats need to reconnect with their core voting base but also a wider public which is open to join efforts for a society with more fairness, an economy with more innovation and an environment with more sustainability. In the face of adversity, we must stand firm in our progressive values and uphold the institutions needed for justice, peace and prosperity. 
 

FEPS remains steadfast in its mission and will actively contribute to the intellectual and political debates that these times demand.
Events

Upcoming events

See full schedule
Progressive Yearbook launch
 

📅  29 JANUARY 2025

📍 FEPS HQ

Progressive Yearbook launch

Join us at the launch of the  sixth edition of one of our most unique publications, the Progressive Yearbook. We will also reveal and interview FEPS Progressive Person of the Year.
 

With the mission of bringing forward analysis of the key political developments of the year, the Progressive Yearbook focuses on transversal European issues that have left a mark on 2024. It brings insightful future-looking analysis and symbolises FEPS’ readiness to put it into perspective. Find out more. 
>
Time to build a European digital ecosystem
 

📅  14 JANUARY 2025

📍 FEPS HQ (HYBRID)

Time to build a European digital ecosystem

Recommendations for the EU’s digital policy

How should Europeans react when Elon Musk uses X for his right-wing propaganda? What will be the impact of META’s policy change on fact checking which contradicts the EU’s legal requirements? With the changes on the other side of the Atlantic, Europe’s dependency on US firms to provide digital infrastructure is an urgent political issue.
 

We’ll discuss these implications at the launch of the latest📕policy study ‘Time to build a European ecosystem’. 
 

The EU needs to resist the pressure of Big Tech firms and enforce the digital regulations passed to protect citizens and society. We must build capacity by investing in Digital Public Infrastructure and an industrial policy that will support European initiatives in digital transformation. Register to follow it live! 
>
11th Barbara Prammer Symposium
 

📅  17 JANUARY 2025

📍 VIENNA, AUSTRIA

11th Barbara Prammer Symposium

Money. Power. Equality. The benefits of gender budgeting

Where does funding go, who benefits, and how can budgets be made gender-inclusive? EU treaties, along with the Austrian constitution, provide a clear mandate. However, the journey from goals to implementation remains challenging. 
 

Together with experts from the EU, federal, and municipal levels, we will discuss the prerequisites for a feminist and gender-equitable fiscal and budgetary policy. Read more. 
>
Capital and wealth taxation in the EU
 

📅  4 FEBRUARY 2025

📍 EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Capital and wealth taxation in the EU

Large multinational corporations and the ultra-wealthy find ways to avoid paying their fair share, leaving the heaviest tax burden on workers and the middle class. This dynamic worsens income and wealth inequality. It is time to rebalance the tax system to alleviate the strain on workers and the middle class, while ensuring corporations and the ultra-rich contribute fairly. Join us as we explore the path to reforming wealth and capital income taxation. Register now! 
>

Past events

See all past events

12 DEC – FEPS HQ

From posts to polls

Lessons from the 2024 European elections on strengthening young people’s engagement through effective social media strategies
 

During this event, we launched our 📕policy study “From posts to polls”, which explores how political parties sought to engage young voters on Facebook and Instagram in Germany, Sweden, Hungary, and Poland before the elections. 
Lessons from the 2024 European Elections on strengthening young people’s engagement through effective social media strategies

It reveals that social media has become a primary source of political information for young people – an opportunity seized by the far right but not by social democrats, despite being among the most liked and least rejected by this demographic. This study also provides critical insights to counter extremist narratives.
 

📻 Also, tune in to the FEPS Talk episode ‘Right turns and Left leans: A new gender divide in young voters?’.
 
Podcast
Listen to the podcast 'Civil society wants a new EU social agenda'

FEPS TALKS PODCAST

Civil society wants a new EU social agenda

With Anne Van Lancker and László Andor
 

🎧  Spotify | Apple Podcast | Website | Youtube

In this episode of FEPS Talks, Anne Van Lancker, President of SOLIDAR, discusses the EU’s evolving social agenda with FEPS Secretary General László Andor.
 

Civil society organisations united in SOLIDAR view the European Pillar of Social Rights as a game changer, inspiring further progress in social policy across the EU. While the past years have been marked by a ‘Golden Age’ of EU social policy initiatives, the focus must now shift to ensuring effective implementation.
 

With the recent establishment of a poverty reduction target, the upcoming anti-poverty strategy from the European Commission will be a vital tool. The recognition of housing as a European concern is also welcomed, with social NGOs eager to contribute to a collective effort to learn from best practices and develop an effective EU policy.
 

However, even more is needed, particularly in better coordinating economic and social policies, to ensure that the EU pursues an investment-oriented approach rather than returning to austerity.
Publications

China: Dangerous rival or cooperation partner?

How can EU-China relations develop in a changing world with geopolitical conflicts?

A book by Gerhard Stahl
 

This book is a valuable contribution to the development of a European strategy for China and a convincing plea for international cooperation to solve global problems like climate change and underdevelopment.
 

It explores China’s economic and political evolution through a factual lens, enriched by diverse perspectives from business, politics, and academia. The analysis delves into historical context, economic competition, and the causes and consequences of geopolitical tensions.
 

📰 Check out the article by Brussels Express on the book.
China: Dangerous rival or cooperation partner?
 
Read me
Progressive Post
Europe in 2025: from disquiet to ambition

PROGRESSIVE PAGE

Europe in 2025: from disquiet to ambition

Article by Maria João Rodrigues, FEPS President
 

The EU’s boat is fragile and navigating uncertain waters, but it remains our best chance of sailing the current high waves if we are bold and ambitious.

Read this week’s Progressive Page by FEPS President Maria João Rodrigues to learn how to strengthen the EU and make it capable of facing the challenges ahead. Read more.

Was this email forwarded to you?

Copyright © 2025 FEPS Europe, All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email because you participated in one of FEPS’ events and/or have registered for FEPS’ newsletter.

If you wish not to receive FEPS’ communications anymore, please click here: unsubscribe now
 

Foundation for European Progressive Studies
Avenue des Arts, 46 – 1000 Bruxelles

+32 223 46 900 – info@feps-europe.eu
Find all related Progressive Post
Progressive Post
27/11/2025
Mohammed CHAHIM

COP30 shows that it is hard to lead when isolated

Set against the Amazon, guided by the idea of mutirão, and backed by a broad […]
27/11/2025
Chloé DEFFET

COP30: towards a coalition of the willing for a just transition?

Ten years after the Paris Agreement, over 80 countries are finally ready to discuss a […]
27/11/2025
Vera COELHO

Ocean action is climate action

Homework for Europe after COP30
Find all related Magazine
Magazine
  • cover book

    # Issue 28 Progressive Post

# Issue 28

European Social Democracy at historical crossroads
BRICS Education LGBTIQ+ Social Democracy
  • cover book

    #Issue 27 Progressive Post

#Issue 27

The EU in uncharted waters
  • cover book

    #Issue 26 Progressive Post

#Issue 26

Brace for impact
Find all related publications
Publications
See all
28/11/2025
Policy Brief

Smarter spending today, safer societies tomorrow

Digitally-enabled capabilities for European defence
28/11/2025
Policy Brief

More money, more dependence?

Financing European Union defence for autonomy and cooperation
28/11/2025
Policy Brief

ReArm Europe

The impact and role of EU arms export controls
18/11/2025
Policy Brief

Public investment in the proposed 2028-2034 EU budget

Needs, gaps and options
Find all related news
News
See all
04/12/2025

It is high time that the goal is set on “Quality”

FEPS commentary on the Quality Jobs Roadmap
27/11/2025

Is a bad COP outcome better than no outcome at all?

FEPS Commentary on COP30
27/11/2025

FEPS President Maria João Rodrigues at the T20 South Africa Summit in Johannesburg

Organised by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), the Institute for Global Dialogue […]
21/10/2025

Maria João Rodrigues at PES Congress 2025

🇳🇱 🌹 FEPS attended the Party of European Socialists (PES) Congress in Amsterdam, which included […]
Find all related in the media
In the media
See all

« La souveraineté numérique européenne est un défi d’ordre civilisationnel »

by Le Monde 15/11/2025
"European digital sovereignty is a challenge for civilisation as a whole". In an opinion piece in the newspaper Le Monde, FEPS President Maria João Rodrigues shares her concerns about European digital dependence on American and Asian giants

When Algorithms Undermine Democracy: Europe’s Wake-Up Call

by Social Europe 11/11/2025
Maja Fjaestad and Simon Vinge, co-editors of FEPS book "Algorithmic rule", wrote this op-ed on the power of algorithms and how they threaten the foundations of democratic oversight

Los mapas de las fronteras internas que alimentan el voto ultra en Europa

by El Confidencial 13/10/2025
"The internal border maps that fuel the far-right vote in Europe" - FEPS Secretary-General László Andor discusses the impact of cohesion policies on social inequalities and the rise of the far-right across Europe in this El Confidencial article.

Migranti: Amato a FEPS — “Socialisti e populisti fomentano ossessione”

by Avanti! 29/09/2025
“Migrants: Amato to FEPS — ‘Socialists and populists fuel obsession’” News article in Avanti! where Hedwig Giusto, FEPS Head of International Affairs, critiques how both populist and some socialist political forces are stoking fear around migration. Giusto calls for balanced migration policies that respect human rights, reinforce solidarity among member states, and reject securitarian obsessions.