Hungary’s unfair election: Why Viktor Orbán is so hard to beat The prime minister’s rivals say his total control over the state and the media allows him to influence elections in his favor.

www.politico.eu/article/hung...

@jenszalai.bsky.social @karalabe.bsky.social
@rebeccatamas.bsky.social
@jctmik.bsky.social
@danielagabor.bsky.social
@rebeccatamas.bsky.social @mikloskiss.bsky.social @balazsorban.com
@janosmarton.bsky.social
@gscheiring.bsky.social
@hrw.org
@biffpm.bsky.social

Neues EuGH Urteil: Belohnung für höhere Löhne » workzeitung.ch

Firmen, die ihre Beschäftigten besser bezahlen als die Konkurrenz, dürfen bei der Erteilung von öffentlichen Aufträgen bevorzugt werden. Zum Urteil kam es, weil Arbeitgeber #Ortuella verklagten.

@etuc-ces.bsky.social
@social.verdi.de

Unions take campaign against draft EU law that creates a 28th virtual member state to facilitate business opt-outs of the law of the land to Commissioner’s home city
@etuc-ces.bsky.social @siptu.bsky.social @irishtimes.com
@europeanjournalists.org @sabinenuss.bsky.social
etuc.org/en/pressrele...

Unions take ‘EU Inc’ campaign to Commissioner’s home city

Trade unions are taking the fight to stop the European Commission putting workers’ conditions, pay and say at work at risk through a ‘28th regime’ to the hometown of the Commissioner responsible for the initiative.

Applications are open for the Finance Summer School 2026. Last two have been at Brown. This one is at LSE thanks to LSE European Institute and Huth Initiative, plus the Berkeley Program on Finance and Democracy. Stellar Line up. Apps open: forms.gle/WsEVk4Yy52Dn...

People are clear about their priorities: cost of living, jobs, public health.

Yet the Commission is pushing #austerity and a corporate agenda.

This doesn’t match people’s concerns.

Europe needs a #PublicServicesAgenda for people - not deregulation for big business.

📷 Eurobarometer 2025/Q4 survey

✊Workers are mobilising in Strasbourg for a decisive moment in EU labour policy

📢 The moment to act is now
Join us to #StopExploitation !

@effat.org @etuc-ces.bsky.social @etf-europe.bsky.social

Brigid Laffan: Europe is in danger of becoming a plaything, not a player Donald Trump’s administration wants to erase the achievements of European integration and destroy the project

Unless EU regulates tech platforms, they … damage democracy. Nor should Europe sacrifice social safety or quality public services on the altar of competitiveness. Nor should it abandon the green deal.

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...

@brigidlaffan.bsky.social @corporateeurope.org

EU Court Upholds Minimum Wage Directive in Victory for Social Europe ‘The Court of Justice of the European Union has delivered a landmark verdict on the EU Minimum Wage Directive that I would characterise as “...

EU Court Upholds Minimum Wage Directive in Victory for Social Europe, see andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2025/11/eu-c... @rolanderne.bsky.social

EU Court Upholds Minimum Wage Directive in Victory for Social Europe The ruling preserves key provisions on wage adequacy and collective bargaining, revealing how employer lobbying inadvertently expanded EU social policy powers.

EU Court ruling establishes that the EU can set meaningful standards for wage adequacy and collective bargaining coverage, creating a foundation for upward convergence in labour standards across the Union, writes @rolanderne.bsky.social
www.socialeurope.eu/eu-court-uph...

EU Court Upholds Minimum Wage Directive in Victory for Social Europe The ruling preserves key provisions on wage adequacy and collective bargaining, revealing how employer lobbying inadvertently expanded EU social policy powers.

www.socialeurope.eu/eu-court-uph...

SIPTU warns of industrial unrest due to cost of living The incoming General Secretary of the country's largest trade union, SIPTU, has warned of significant periods of industrial unrest because the cost of living crisis is "screwing workers".

“Workers would not have understood why the EU had the power to cut wages and to decentralise collective bargaining after the 2008 crisis but not the power to provide a framework for advocate minimum wages and higher collective bargaining coverage" said Prof Roland Erne www.rte.ie/news/busines...

Overall, I would summarise today’s EU court verdict on the EU minimum wage directive as 1) “Social Europe 2 : Liberal Europe 1” 2) another example of an unintended but still politically motivated… ... Overall, I would summarise today’s EU court verdict on the EU minimum wage directive as 1) “Social Europe 2 : Liberal Europe 1” 2) another example of an unintended but still politically motivated “...

My take on the EU Court’s minimum wage verdict from Luxemburg

www.linkedin.com/posts/roland...

In 20 minutes, we will know the the verdict of European court of justice on the legality of the EU directive 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union.

@etuc-ces.bsky.social @etui.bsky.social @verfassungsblog.de @donatodc.bsky.social @prossertj.bsky.social
@vdoellgast.bsky.social

Thanks so much Stijn warm regards from Ireland Roland

Politicising Commodification | Cambridge University Press & Assessment

We are thrilled that 'Politicising Commodification' has received an Honourable Mention for the 2025 July Brian Farrell Prize for the Best Book Published in Political Science

Thank you @psairishpol.bsky.social for this honour!

Learn more about it cup.org/3HJWFnN

@universitypress.cambridge.org

Revealed: EU Farm Subsidy ‘Bankrolls’ Widespread Labour Abuse This investigation was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe. Farm owners convicted of exploiting migrant workers continue to claim millions in taxpayer-funded subsidies, DeSmog can reve...

Revealed: EU Farm Subsidy ‘Bankrolls’ Widespread Labour Abuse - @desmog.com

www.desmog.com/2025/09/29/r...

see also the German version in @taz.de and the French version in @humanite.fr

Dans l’agriculture, la traite des êtres humains bat son plein - L'Humanité Durant cinq mois, Mohammed, travailleur marocain, a été victime de traite dans les champs du sud de la France. Il témoigne pour la première fois auprès de l’Humanité. Pour les centa...

www.humanite.fr/social-et-ec...

taz.de Kritischer, unabhängiger Journalismus der linken Nachrichtenseite taz: Analysen, Hintergründe, Kommentare, Interviews, Reportagen. Genossenschaft seit 1992.

Saisonarbeit: Subventionen für Ausbeuter | taz.de

UACES 55th Annual Conference 2025 DAILY ROUND-UP Our 2025 Award Winners Our Chair, Toni Haastrup, had the pleasure of presenting our 2025 winners with their awards, recognising their exceptional contributions to European studies. Honourable Mentions An Honourable Mention for the UACES Best Book Award goes to: • Roland Erne, Sabina Stan, Darragh Golden, Imre Szabó and Vincenzo Maccarrone for Politicising Commodification - European Governance and Labour Politics from the Financial Crisis to the Covid Emergency. These works represent further exceptional scholarship and talent within the European studies community.

Just back from the UACES conference, were our new book got an honourable mention

Erne, R., Stan, S., Golden, D., Szabó, I. and Maccarrone, V. (2024) Politicising Commodification. European Governance and Labour Politics from the Financial Crisis to the Covid Emergency. Cambridge UP (open access)

@kurtvandaele.bsky.social @valepuligna.bsky.social @standespiegelaere.bsky.social @huwthomas.bsky.social @vdoellgast.bsky.social @rkgwork.bsky.social @andrewwatteu.bsky.social @pablogracia.bsky.social @etui.bsky.social @rosaluxglobal.bsky.social @progintl.bsky.social
@abieler.bsky.social

The exposure to horizontal market pressures in the EU economy alone cannot explain the rise in collective transnational protest actions. Rather, increasing vertical political pressures triggered by commodifying policy interventions of EU authorities play a key role in driving transnational action.

Transnational socioeconomic protest in Europe since 1997: Reflecting greater horizontal market or vertical political integration pressures? - Roland Erne, Jörg Nowak, 2025 This paper draws on a novel database of 360 collective transnational socioeconomic protest actions across Europe that we found in a comprehensive, multilingual ...

We have explained its methodology here
 
Erne, R and Nowak J (2025). Transnational socioeconomic protest in Europe since 1997: Reflecting greater horizontal market or vertical political integration pressures? European Journal of Industrial Relations, OnlineFirst, doi.org/10.1177/0959...

Our Transnational Socioeconomic Protest Database is now available open access:
 
Erne R and Nowak J (2024). Transnational Socioeconomic Protest Database. ERC Project ‘European Unions’, UCD, Dublin. Version March 2024. hdl.handle.net/10197/26247

Opinion | Romania Is About to Experience Disaster

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/o....

On the social failures explaining the challenges exposed by coming Romanian elections

@abieler.bsky.social @andduer.bsky.social @socialistsanddemocrats.eu @felixulrich.bsky.social @onachtwey.bsky.social @olivierhoedeman.bsky.social @hermannc.bsky.social @mbsteiert.bsky.social @ksurber.bsky.social @wstreeckblog.bsky.social @donatodc.bsky.social @jensarnholtz.bsky.social

Ohne EU-Mindestlohn kein soziales Europa Nach Jahren antisozialer Politik infolge der Finanzkrise von 2008 standen soziale Fragen in der vergangenen Legislatur der EU wieder weiter oben auf der Agenda. Zwischen 2022 und 2024 verabschiedeten ...

www.blaetter.de/ausgabe/2025...

Sollte sich der EU Generalanwalt durchsetzen, wird der EU Skeptizismus wachsen. Viele werden nicht verstehen, warum unsoziale #EU Interventionen zu Lohnkürzungen legal sind, eine soziale Richtlinie zu angemessenen #Mindestlöhnen jedoch nicht. @blaetter.bsky.social

Ohne EU-Mindestlohn kein soziales Europa Nach Jahren antisozialer Politik infolge der Finanzkrise von 2008 standen soziale Fragen in der vergangenen Legislatur der EU wieder weiter oben auf der Agenda. Zwischen 2022 und 2024 verabschiedeten ...

www.blaetter.de/ausgabe/2025...

Sollte sich der EU Generalanwalt durchsetzen, wird der EU Skeptizismus wachsen. Viele werden nicht verstehen, warum unsoziale #EU Interventionen zu Lohnkürzungen legal sind, eine soziale Richtlinie zu angemessenen #Mindestlöhnen jedoch nicht. @blaetter.bsky.social

Here's the link to follow the healthcare crisis conference in the European Parliament 2pm Brussels time online:

: meet1495.webex.com/meet1495/j.p...

Pictures from today European demonstration against the commodification of public #healthcare services @epsu.bsky.social @fagforbundet.bsky.social @fnv.bsky.social @sudsantesociaux35.bsky.social @bigmacca.bsky.social @socialistsanddemocrats.eu @greens-efa.eu