Europe's housing crisis has arrived on the EU policy agenda. With the appointment of an EU Commissioner responsible for this issue, Ursula von der Leyen wants the problem to be dealt with at the highest political level. However, many of the measures announced still seem rather vague, and overall the social dimension does not yet appear to be fully developed. Civil society and trade unions have many ideas on how housing can be organised in a more socially just way. The European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) recently held a conference on this subject.

Forced labour is widespread globally, affecting around 28 million people. In order to combat it, the EU Commission presented a proposal for an EU ban on products made with forced labour in September 2022. The regulation was finally adopted on 19 November 2024. AK welcomes this important instrument for combating modern slavery.

On 8 November 2024, the informal European Council in Budapest adopted the so-called Budapest Declaration, a political declaration of intent to strengthen Europe's competitiveness. It focuses on innovation, productivity and economic growth. Other strategic goals such as energy sovereignty, climate neutrality, the circular economy and the social agenda are also addressed. The Budapest declaration ties in with the European Council’s Strategic Agenda and refers to the Draghi and Letta reports. 

Every year, public authorities spend large sums of money on publich procurement such as construction and service contracts. Hence, there is considerable potential in the design of public procurement to positively influence the market by setting qualitative criteria. The new EU Commission has announced that it will revise the Public Procurement Directive. From AK’s point of view, it is vital that the focus will be placed on social and environmental criteria at last.

The Adequate Minimum Wages Directive adopted in 2022, for the first time regulates adequate minimum wages throughout Europe. It aims to counteract in-work poverty and wage inequality at European level. The member states are supposed to implement the requirements of the directive by 15 November 2024, but so far they have only complied hesitantly.

From 4 to 12 November, the hearings of the 26 designated commissioners took place in the relevant committees of the EU Parliament. Many candidates presented well, some shone with detail or humour, few were controversial. Beside Olivér Várhelyi from Hungary and Raffaele Fitto from Italy, these included also Teresa Rodríguez from Spain. In the end, the political groups were not yet able to find an agreement, but the date for the plenary vote at the end of November will not be changed for the time being.

While the focus at the beginning of the new EU legislative period is on competitiveness, the single market and defence, AK EUROPA is presenting a List of Demands for a bright future for the EU from the perspective of employees and consumers. Their interests must not be neglected, especially in view of the immense challenges currently facing the EU, and social balance must be at the heart of EU policy. The catalogue of 35 demands contains numerous specific policy recommendations.

AK is committed to putting the social dimension of the EU centre stage at the beginning of the EU legislative period. Over the next five years, continued efforts are needed to put the principles of The European Pillar of Social Rights into practice. The “A Pillar for our Rights” project and the AK EUROPA List of Demands provide impetus for a social Europe.

The Social Convergence Framework (SCF) has been created as a tool to map and compare employment and social policy developments in EU Member States in a structured way. It should help to identify countries with a particular need for action. However, further steps are needed to ensure that social objectives are adequately taken into account.

The ECJ ruling from 10 September 2024 on Ireland's tax breaks for Apple ends years of litigation between Apple, Ireland and the EU Commission. This has resulted in a significant win for EU citizens and in terms of tax justice in Europe. Apple must pay back tax totalling 13 billion euros to Ireland. What does the ruling mean for the future of tax justice in Europe?