European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
Verena Kern
In-work poverty in the EU
Having a job yet still being unable to make a living: In-work poverty is a phenomenon that affected 9,1 percent of the working age EU population in 2012. The rate of those in work and at risk of poverty has been on the rise since 2005. It applies to those with an income below 60% … Continue reading
Young Entrepreneurs
In the aftermath of the crisis, youth unemployment rates have reached new heights across Europe. In January 2014, 23.4% of young Europeans were without a job. Following an EU wide initiative, ‘youth guarantees’ are being implemented in many EU countries. At the same time youth entrepreneurship is moving into focus, as entrepreneurship is known to … Continue reading
Youth Employment: Mobility of young workers
With almost 6 million jobless young people in the EU, policymakers are under pressure to find solutions to combat high youth unemployment. Whilst Youth Guarantees have been widely discussed and are currently being developed in many Member States, mobility – another strand of the European Commission’s (EC) Youth Employment Package – has received much less attention. … Continue reading
More than 500 blog posts in 2013 – what’s your favourite?
e-Cigarettes, EU-US relations post-NSA and pre-FTT, Eastern Partnership – we had them all! Another year has passed and our blog featured plenty of hot topics in the European Parliament in 2013. 220.000 all time views and more than 500 blog posts in 2013 made it a great year for us. Out of these +500, there … Continue reading
NEETs: Young people not in employment, education or training
With youth unemployment in the EU reaching record highs, NEETs are increasingly moving to the centre of EU policymakers’ attention. NEETs are young people who are not in employment, education or training. In 2011, some 14 million young Europeans aged 15 to 29 were affected,according to according to a report by Eurofound, the European Foundation … Continue reading
Making research freely available: Open access on the fast track
Open access is happening – and its happening faster than expected, concludes a new study funded by the European Commission. Half of all scholarly publications in 2011 are freely available online and the trend will increase. The study, carried out by Science-Metrix, predicts that open access “is poised to become the dominant form of dissemination of … Continue reading
Youth Guarantees in the EU
Published 17 July 2013, updated 2 March 2015. On 27 June 2013, EU leaders agreed on a youth jobless fund to implement the 2014-2020 youth employment package announced in December 2012. €6 bn will be made available in the first two years to finance national actions such as (non-binding) youth guarantees. These foresee that anyone under the … Continue reading
Social protection for self-employed workers
In 2012, 32.8 Mio. persons in the EU were self-employed, accounting for 15% of total EU employment. Self-employment creates jobs and lifts people out of unemployment. The Europe 2020 strategy recognizes self-employment as key for achieving smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. However, in several EU countries self-employed workers have less favorable conditions in terms of social … Continue reading
Safety and health at work: 2007-2012 EU strategy evaluated
On 31 May 2013, the European Commission launched a public consultation on a 2013-2020 strategy on safety and health at work. At the same time, the results of the evaluation of the 2007-2012 strategy were published. They suggest that a post-2012 framework is clearly needed, as all EU Member States face similar challenges. Outcome of … Continue reading
The week on the EP Library’s blog: From Oslo with Love
What a start to the last plenary session of the year! On Monday, EU leaders headed to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for the EU. As 5 out of approx. 503,679,700 EU citizens who couldn’t attend the ceremony, we followed the Brussels EP Information Office‘s invitation to have our ‘Nobel 2012’ picture taken. … Continue reading
Cloud computing: a potential job boost
The European Commission (EC) published its strategy on cloud computing on 27 September 2012. It predicts annual gains of €160 billion to EU GDP and the creation of 2.5 million new jobs by 2020, if the strategy is fully implemented. However, a number of obstacles could slow down progress. Background Cloud computing describes a key … Continue reading
Pensions: Balancing years in work and retirement, and private savings are key for the future
On 16 February 2012, the European Commission published a white paper “An Agenda for Adequate, Safe and Sustainable Pensions“. It provides suggestions for reforming national pension systems. A strong focus is given to creating a balance between years in work and in retirement. The Commission puts forward several key measures: Live longer, work longer. By … Continue reading
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