Eurofound Talks
Eurofound Talks
Podcast episode
Episode 5
29 March 2022

Social Europe more urgent than ever, with Nicolas Schmit

During his visit to Dublin, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit talks about using the European Pillar of Social Rights to make Europe a better, fairer, greener and more digital place to live and work. War had just commenced in Ukraine but we were hopeful of a solution. In the intervening period, however, things have deteriorated across a range of areas as revealed by the most recent results from Eurofound’s unique pan-European Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey.

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Mary McCaughey

Head of Unit
Information and Communication

Mary McCaughey is Head of Information and Communication in Eurofound. A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin and the College of Europe, Bruges, she started work in Brussels with Europolitics and the Wall Street Journal Europe. She worked with the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) in South Africa during the country’s transition to democracy, and in 1998 she took up the post of spokesperson with the Delegation of the European Union in Pretoria, heading up its press and information department during the negotiation of the EU–South Africa free trade agreement. Following the end of the Kosovo War, she worked as a communications consultant for the European Agency for Reconstruction in Serbia. She took up the post of Editor-in-Chief in Eurofound in 2003.

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Episode 43
26 March 2026
Shaping Europe’s social and employment future

The European Union is navigating a period of profound transformation - from the cost‑of‑living crisis to the green and digital transitions, demographic shifts, and geopolitical uncertainty. At the heart of the EU’s response to these challenges stands the Employment and Social Affairs Committee of the European Parliament. With 60 Members, the Committee plays a central role in ensuring fair working conditions, strong social protection, and equal opportunities across the Union.

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Mary McCaughey
Li Andersson
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European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
The tripartite EU agency providing knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies