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Although the worldwide pandemic situation had already disrupted supply chains and triggered increases in energy and food prices in 2021, the situation deteriorated in 2022 with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Governments throughout the EU had already started to intervene with policy measures in a bid to cushion the impact of rising fuel and energy prices on citizens, but the situation demanded further responses. This article summarises these first policy responses, as reported in Eurofound’s EU PolicyWatch database, up to the end of May 2022.

As the war in Ukraine has intensified, the cost of food, raw materials and energy prices, already high due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has continued to rise substantially. Ahead of coordinated action at EU level, as agreed by EU energy ministers on 9 September 2022, governments across the EU have started to implement policies to support companies affected by the rising prices, and those with commercial ties to Ukraine, Russia or Belarus. This article summarises these first policy responses, as reported in Eurofound’s EU PolicyWatch database, up to 31 May 2022.

In collecting information on essential services, the European Commission requested Eurofound to provide input on certain aspects of existing and planned measures in the Member States to improve access to essential services in reference to Principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights. For this exercise, the scope was on energy services, public transport, and digital communications, and the focus on people at risk of poverty or social exclusion (in most cases in practice, people on low incomes).

This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the gas sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation in the European sectoral social dialogue and their capacity to negotiate agreements.

In diesem Bericht sollen die Rechtsvorschriften und Tarifverhandlungen zur Telearbeit in den 27 Mitgliedstaaten und Norwegen erfasst und analysiert werden. Darin werden die wichtigsten länderspezifischen Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten in Bezug auf die Rechtsvorschriften zur Telearbeit und die jüngsten Änderungen dieser Vorschriften hervorgehoben. Ferner wird die aktuelle Situation in Bezug auf Tarifverhandlungen über Telearbeit betrachtet.

In diesem Bericht werden jüngste Entwicklungen und aufkommende Praktiken bei Tarifverhandlungen und deren Ergebnisse, hauptsächlich im Privatsektor, untersucht. Erfasst wurden Tarifverhandlungssysteme in 10 EU-Mitgliedstaaten, wobei auf Basis von Interviews mit maßgeblichen Interessenträgern und Verhandlungsparteien auf nationaler Ebene Beispiele untersucht wurden. Der Bericht analysiert die Auswirkungen der COVID-19-Pandemie und der daraus entstandenen wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Krise auf die Dynamik von Tarifverhandlungen und -vereinbarungen.

Rising energy prices are putting more people under increased financial pressure and at greater risk of energy poverty. In this data story, we take a closer look at the data from the fifth round of the Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey to explore the extent of the issue and the threat of energy poverty.

Trust in national institutions has declined across the EU over the past two years. Driven by increasingly difficult economic circumstances and unreliable news sources, even people who previously expressed higher trust levels – such as those in financially secure positions – have become less trusting.

Telework has become a permanent feature of working life in Europe. While we’ve seen the benefits of more flexible ways of working – particularly during the pandemic – the problems that arise from an increasingly connected life are also becoming clearer. Unfortunately, legislation alone may not be enough to ensure our right to disconnect.

Die fünfte Runde der elektronischen Erhebung von Eurofound, die vom 25. März bis zum 2. Mai 2022 durchgeführt wurde, gibt Aufschluss über die soziale und wirtschaftliche Lage der Menschen in Europa zwei Jahre, nachdem COVID-19 erstmals auf dem europäischen Kontinent nachgewiesen wurde. Außerdem wird die Lebensrealität in einer neuen Ära der Unsicherheit untersucht, die durch den Krieg in der Ukraine, die Inflation und die steigenden Energiepreise verursacht wird.