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FEPS Newsletter 1 Dec 2023 – Social & Digital Europe – Cost of living crisis, Unemployment, AI…

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01/12/2023
📅 FEPS Newsletter: Social & Digital Europe – Cost of living crisis, Unemployment, AI…
Busy end of the year!
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Upcoming Events
While you might be planning your holidays and thinking of upcoming hot chocolates ☕, we are here to ensure you don’t miss out on our progressive agenda.

The last days took us to Helsinki to discuss Ukraine, stopping in Bucharest to meet ‘The Ones to Watch’ and finally back to Brussels, where trade, the cost of living crisis and employment were at the heart of our discussions. Now, under a romantic sprinkle of snow, we are ready to invite you to our upcoming events.

Are you curious about how social and digital policies are made at the EU level? Read below to find out more!
INFOGRAPHICS
In collaboration with Our Global Moment, Fondazione Pietro Nenni, Territoires Zéro Chômeurs de Longue Durée and Europe, a Patient

An online survey was conducted in early 2023 to explore intersecting experiences with (un)employment and labour market developments in the context of the current crises.

The quantitative results from the online survey complemented the qualitative results from conversations with 65 interviewees in Berlin from summer 2022. All research results are presented in this infographic. The policy brief ‘European perceptions of public programmes for zero unemployment‘ provides a more detailed explanations of the results. Read more.
By Anna Kolesnichenko

The recent inflation in 2021-22 has become a major test for macroeconomic policies, highlighting their inadequacies and illustrating why we need to revise the ways we are dealing with inflation.

Our new policy brief, published in collaboration with Friedrich–Ebert–Stiftung (FES), proposes alternatives for looking at the data, modelling and policy mix. Read more.
By Björn Hacker

Are you curious about how social policy is made at the EU level? Wondering about the tools, key players and the process behind it all?

Dive into our latest primer, shedding light on this complex policy field, which, in a broad sense, encompasses employment, education, health, and long-term care policies. This book offers support to readers who wish to understand the policy dynamics of the EU in this crucial field and locate the steps of social policy coordination on the landscape of broader EU politics. The FEPS Primer series is meant with an educational purpose, to help new audiences enter specific thematic fields from a European perspective. Read more.
UPCOMING EVENT
Will the EU once again accept Big Tech’s power as a fait accompli while belatedly trying to mitigate risks, or can it chart a different course?

Join our conference on the EU approach to the digital transition. On Wednesday, December 6th, FEPS and FES are co-organising an evening of debates on the digital future of Europe. There will be keynotes by the European Commissioner for jobs and social rights, Nicolas Schmit; Evgeny Morozov, founder of The Syllabus; and Phoebe V Moore, the globally recognised expert on digitalisation and the workplace. The event will be moderated by John Thornhill, innovation editor at the Financial Times.
Register
More info
UPCOMING EVENT
It’s time to reshape EU It’s time to reshape EU ambitious digital agenda and decide on how to turn it into reality. In the last few years, the EU has indeed made strides in setting a comprehensive regulatory framework to curb the power of Big Tech. However, significant challenges remain.

We invite you to a full-day conference in the European Parliament organised by FEPS and the S&D group. We will discuss various crucial topics, from how to ensure technology favours workers to how we can support artists in the onslaught of AI, what innovation and industrial policy we need for a democratic digital transition and much more. We will have an amazing panel of experts and policymakers. Among them, Alex Agius Saliba, Member of the S&D Group and EP Vice-President for Digital Affairs; Francesca Bria, Innovation Economist and Digital Policy Expert; and Paul Nemitz, Principal Adviser on the Digital Transition in DG Justice and Consumers of the EC.

📰 Read Francesca Bria’s article ‘Towards Sovereign AI: Europe´s greatest challenge?‘ published in Euractiv.
Register
More info
UPCOMING EVENT
Join us for the presentation of the upcoming report ‘Youth Support for Democracy in Spain: Democracy in the Face of Disadvantage’, which analyses the attitudes of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds towards democracy.

This report was produced by FEPS in collaboration with FES and the Felipe González Foundation. It is part of the FEPS series ‘Builders of Progress‘, which analyses the main concerns and aspirations of young Europeans. The event will be held in Spanish.
More info
PAST EVENT
 29 November – Helsinki, Finland – Hybrid

What does “build back better” entail in the case of Ukraine? How can the recovery process be implemented in a way that strengthens civil society and improves democratic resilience?

More than one year and a half into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when emotional fatigue and disengagement may start showing up, FEPS and the Kalevi Sorsa Foundation gathered experts to discuss Ukraine’s future in Europe. Among them were Anders Adlercreutz, Finnish Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering; Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, MEP S&D Group; Maksym Kravchuk, Counselor at the Embassy of Ukraine in Finland; László Andor, FEPS Secretary General and Yuliya Yurchenko, Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich. Together, we explored strategies that would ensure a resilient recovery that empowers civil society and enhances democratic resilience. Read more.

📰 This event garnered attention in the Finnish newspaper, Demokraatti.
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Video
29 November – Brussels

The EU must find a resilient and sustainable alternative between the autarchic and the free trade models.

FEPS took part in this S&D Group-led discussion about the future of international trade with industry, trade unions and think tanks.

Among the experts that were present for the debate was Arancha González, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain, and co-author of 📕FEPS Primer ‘Making trade work for prosperity, people and planet‘.
More info
30 November – FEPS HQ

How refreshing! We had a vigorous exchange with the Youth Leaders about their vision and their expectations when it comes to pioneering the sphere of transnational politics, together with the Young European Socialists and FES Brussels.

We touched upon five main topics: transnational campaign and its tools; SpiztenKandidatInnen; transnational lists; the role of the manifesto and other documents ahead of the post-electoral negotiations; and post-electoral coordination and transparency of the process.
Pictures
More info
PAST MEETING
Ones to watch
15-17 November – Bucharest, Romania

Fantastic kickstart to the ‘Ones to Watch’ programme in Bucharest! At the PSD headquarters we discussed perspectives on the past to consolidate the left coalition in CEE, and the ways to link local aspirations of people to regional and EU politics.

We met with State Counselors Ruxandra Ivan and Victoria Stoiciu, and the Head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Romania, Mihai Alexandru Ghigiu, engaging in thought-provoking discussions about the poly-crisis Europe is facing, and the challenging rise of populism in the region.
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By Francesca Bria

Innovation Economist and Digital Policy Expert, Francesca Bria, writes about the crucial negotiations over the AI Act currently taking place in the EU and the opportunity Europe has to establish itself as a leader in a technology landscape where innovation serves the public good. Read more.

ℹ️ Francesca Bria will be among the speakers of the event ‘Shaping Europe’s digital model‘.
MAGAZINE
The Autumn-Winter issue of The Progressive Post is out!

In this new edition of the Progressive Post, the Special Coverage looks at EU fiscal rules, particularly at the long-awaited proposal to reform the EU fiscal governance which was presented by the European Commission in April. The plan aimed to address the shortcomings of the current framework, promote growth and sustainability and reduce high public debt ratios but it lacks ambition. It falls short of enabling the green and social transition, and lacks instruments to improve the democratic legitimacy and transparency of the decision-making process.

The Focus is dedicated to Turkey, a heavyweight of the European neighbourhood, an EU candidate country – but one with which the EU has a progressively deteriorating relationship. One Dossier looks at Latin America, whose nations are increasingly breaking free from the traditional alignment of their foreign policy with more powerful allies in the northern hemisphere. The other Dossier on Progressive cities in Europe offers a range of examples from European cities where a transformation towards sustainability is currently taking place concretely and on the ground, thanks to the vision and ambitions of progressive administrations. Read more.
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