The EU PolicyWatch database helps you to monitor policy developments in EU Member States.
The work and life of citizens, workers and businesses in the EU have been disrupted by a series of crises and challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the cost-of-living crisis and extreme weather events related to the climate crisis. Since 2020, businesses came under threat, putting the jobs of many workers at risk. Policymakers – including governments, support institutions, social partners and other social actors – moved swiftly to mitigate the social and economic effects.
EU PolicyWatch database
Explore the database to find measures by country, type of measure, category, or target group.
Eurofound launched its EU PolicyWatch in 2020 to map responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes measures to cushion the social and economic effects on citizens, workers and businesses. It also includes information on the role played by social partners in the design and implementation of the measures. As COVID-19 became endemic, the scope of the database has been expanding to report responses to further crises and policy challenges. As of mid-2022, the EU PolicyWatch also includes:
emergency policies adopted in response to the war in Ukraine
measures to cushion the impacts of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis
policies supporting the green transition, including emergency measures related to extreme weather events
support measures for companies that need to restructure and for employees affected by this, previously reported in Eurofound's Restructuring Monitor (ERM) database on support instruments for restructuring
policies supporting the digital transformation
Since its launch in early 2020, the EU PolicyWatch database has gone through various rounds of updates. Eurofound provided both background and update requirements to its network of correspondents across the EU to guide their selection of relevant policy measures for inclusion in the database. The information can be read in conjunction with the EU PolicyWatch manual, which describes the topical structure and scope of topics.
Eurofound’s EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to different crises or other challenges in a number of policy contexts, and gathers examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts. It aims to:
give an overview of policy measures introduced in EU Member States (as well as Norway which also participates in the Network of Eurofound Correspondents)
create a shared pool of information for Eurofound, its stakeholders and users
record selected examples of company practice and collective agreements
identify cross-country trends regarding policy measures as the situation evolves
Data are mainly provided by the Network of Eurofound Correspondents, with quality control carried out by Eurofound staff. The policies mapped feed into a range of Eurofound's research, including the following:
Access to the raw dataset, updated at irregular intervals, is also available:
Data: EU PolicyWatch - JSON
As the situation in Europe is evolving, measures are newly implemented, changed or cancelled and replaced at rapid speed. Cases are updated with information on the actual uptake of the main measures and information on research investigating their effectiveness, as far as feasible.
The Network of Eurofound Correspondents (NEC) report and review the measures two to four times a year and Eurofound carries out quality control checks prior to publication. For each update round, the correspondents are provided with a brief on the scope and focus of the measures to be reported and updated. The brief is complemented by a manual, describing the topical structure and scope of each topic in the database. Due to the growing number of cases over time, a comprehensive update of all cases is not feasible.
At Eurofound, the following experts can be contacted for questions in relation to the EU PolicyWatch.
Victoria Cojocariu
Research officerVictoria Cojocariu är forskningssekreterare för representativitetsstudier vid arbetslivsenheten vid Eurofound. Hon ansvarar för förvaltningen av forskningsbidrag från Eurofounds nationella korrespondenter, kvalitetskontroll, samt bidrar till utarbetandet av översiktsrapporter för sektoriella representativitetsstudier och datauppbyggnad för den europeiska databasen över arbetsmarknadens parter. Innan Victoria började på Eurofound 2019 arbetade hon som programsamordnare för Open Society Foundation Rumänien och som forskare vid centrumet för offentlig innovation i Bukarest, där hon bidrog till nationella och internationella forskningsprojekt på områdena migration, utbildning, tillträde till arbetsmarknaden för tredjelandsmedborgare samt mänskliga rättigheter. Hon har en kandidat- och masterexamen i sociologi.
Pietro Malacalza
Research assistantPietro Malacalza är forskningsassistent vid enheten för arbetsliv vid Eurofound och har tidigare arbetat med verksamhetsstöd. Hans arbete omfattar stöd till nätverket av Eurofounds korrespondenter, bland annat genom kvalitetskontroll, summering av nationella bidrag till forskningsrapporter och databaser, övervakning av enskilda resultat och kodning av information i programvara för kvalitativ forskning. Innan han började på Eurofound arbetade han som projektledningskonsult för Europeiska kommissionens gemensamma forskningscentrum (JRC) och arbetade även i olika roller inom IT-, flyg- och livsmedelsindustrin. Han har en examen i statsvetenskap från universitetet i Milano och en PMP-certifiering (Project Management Professional).
European Climate and Health Observatory(opens in new tab)This link opens in a new tab by the European Environmental Agency (EEA)
Eurofound: European Restructuring Monitor
