European ways for growth through recovery and resilience: midterm review

Visits: 57Since early 2021, the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, RRF has been transforming the member states’ socio-economic development. The EU-27 states adopted national recovery-resilience plans, NRRPs in line with the RRF’s requirements and according to nation-specific growth reforms. Bringing additional clarity to the EU-wide transformation efforts during the three years in action, the review […]

European social market economy: the concept of stable growth

Visits: 17The European integration “project” with its seventy years experience is based on a specific development model called “social market economy”, in which the member states’ growth sectors are heavily regulated by the EU institutions. Particularly, the post-pandemic period has shown the growing amount of the EU support for “managing” the states in the transition […]

Education policy in Latvia: urgent reforms are needed

Visits: 31The number of students in Latvia during the last two decades dramatically decreased: from about 131 thousand in 2005 to 74 thousand presently. About half of the students enrolled in 52 higher education institutions are in bachelor programs, about a quarter at masters’ level, three percent are in doctoral programs, plus about 20 percent […]

EU’s renewables: third project in the hydrogen value chain

Visits: 43Although the renewable hydrogen supply chain in Europe is still in a nascent phase, however, the new Hy2Infra project will deploy the initial building blocks of an integrated and open EU-wide renewable hydrogen network. This project was jointly prepared by seven states: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Slovakia.  

New EU-wide consumer protection rules are expected

Visits: 38Consumer protection is within a shared competence among the EU institutions (mainly, the Commission) and the member states’ authorities. The member states, generally, are responsible for enforcing consumer rights, with the EU having some coordinating and supporting functions. Therefore among the rules in place are mostly directives, e.g. regulating “common” better enforcement and modernisation […]

EU’s platform workers directive: socialists and democrats initiatives

Visits: 17Three EU’s legislative institutions reached at the end of 2023 an agreement on the platform workers’ directive aimed to improve the working conditions of more than 28 million gig-workers in the EU member states. However, the final agreement was delayed, which was according to European socialists “a failed opportunity” to show the EU-wide intention […]

European market: efforts to adapt to new realities

Visits: 13The European “social market economy” concept is being subject to significant alterations under modern global challenges during last decade, in particular the through the increased digitalisation, new ways of producing and offering goods and services, as well as through the interconnected nature of commercial exchanges. Market definition provides guidance on the principles of the […]

New European Sustainable Development Report: resolute actions needed

Visits: 38At the end of January 2024, the SDSN published the fifth edition of the European Sustainable Development Report, which tracks annually since 2019 the performance of the EU member states and partner countries on the UN 17 SDGs. Suggested ten priority actions provide for serious transformations in the EU-wide policies towards SDGs.