Welfare and Social Issues

Austerity in Britain has a face. That face is female. That face is a mother of a dependent child. A mother with a job – although a job she may well lose in the next couple of years through no fault of her own. A very poor paying, part-time job, renting at high cost in the private sector, in a home that’s poorly insulated and expensive to heat.

With one of the highest growth rates in the European Union, the Polish economy seems to escape the crisis. But there is another side of the coin. The Polish are working more and more but earning less. This is the result of a practical obligation to systematically work overtime during weekends and the impossibility of taking annual leave. But what is the social impact of this inequality?

This article aims to analyse the consequences of the structural reforms and expenditure cuts in Spain. It starts from a theoretical debate of why are these measures taken, continues with the details on the reforms and discussing whether Spain is going to achieve the EU deficit objectives, and finishes proposing a change in the approach at Spanish and EU level.

Ireland will vote on the European Union’s ‘Stability Treaty’ on May 31st, the only EU Member State to have a public vote on the treaty. The campaign will reignite a debate in Ireland about its relationship with the EU. For most of its time as a member of the EU, Ireland has perceived ‘Brussels’ as a positive player in Irish economic and social development. However, the economic implosion has raised awkward questions, and led to a re-evaluation of this relationship.

Austerity is being promoted across Europe as a means of restoring competitiveness and growth. However, its implementation has disproportionately impacted the education sector, and is being used as a cloak to implement an ideological drive to privatise education systems. What are the long-term implications of such a strategy?

Inequalities lie at both ends of the equation of the crisis. Inequality is unsustainable in many ways: it puts in danger the cohesion of our societies and it is a driving force of our unsustainable consumption model. An interview with Jean Lambert MEP and Romual Jagodzinski from the ETUI.

In 2012, the urgency seems to have once again reduced the political possibilities for investment into a green conversion of the economy. Therefore, if the Greens want to reinforce their social base for an “ecological re-industrialisation”, they must re-evaluate their definition of what is socially just and share this vision with as many people as possible, starting with social movements, both new and old. This could be their best way for surviving austerity.

The ‘Occupy movement’ is a successful example of a campaign that has caused social upheaval right at the heart of society.

An iComntroduction to a concept that is quickly gaining popularity, both inside and outside of the Green movement.

The events that shook Europe in 2011 show signs that we have arrived at the end of a chapter in the history of European integration.