Since 2018, AK has contributed to the analysis of prosperity and well-being in Austria with its AK Well-being Report (AK-Wohlstandsbericht). Austria's social and economic progress is analysed on the basis of the modified "magic polygon" of a well-being oriented economic policy from the perspective of an institution representing the interests of employees. There are five overarching goals and six sub-goals for each of them. The five goals are: Fairly distributed material prosperity, Full employment and decent work, Quality of life, Intact environment, Economic stability.

At the Special European Council in April, the heads of state and government of the member states met to discuss how the competitiveness of the European economy can be secured in the future. The focus was on the Single Market. Although the ‘Letta Report’ presented at the EU summit contains a number of positive approaches, it focusses one-sidedly on the corporate side. In contrast, the social dimension and the perspective of employees have hardly been taken into account.

A study commissioned by AK analyses how the payout on maturity (capital benefit in the case of survival or at the end of the savings phase) and early termination (realisation of the surrender value or deposit value in the case of unit-linked life insurance policies) develop if the following assumptions and scenarios regarding the acquisition costs are used as the basis for the calculations: Commission-free policy with a fee paid by the insurance customer at the start of the contract (Variant 1), Distribution of the brokerage (sales) commission over the whole term of a life insurance contrac

Future EU enlargements require the involvement of the social partners and a deepening of the social dialogue - both in the EU and in the candidate countries. On 26 March 2024, AK EUROPA and the  EU Office of the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) hosted the launch event of the Central European Trade Union Network (CETUN). The discussion focussed on the challenges and opportunities of EU enlargement to include the Western Balkans region. It was agreed that the social dimension must be given greater consideration.

The European Environment Agency's first European climate risk assessment shows that floods, heat and drought fundamentally jeopardise the supply of food and the health of people in Europe, not least workers. Adaptation to man-made climate change must begin now in order to promote climate resilience and enable social and ecological transformation.

Given the political significance of this European election year, the Benchmarking Working Europe Report 2024 provides a retrospective assessment of the state of Social Europe. Important achievements of the past EU legislative period are recognised, but shortcomings are also identified. The report also points out the necessary political steps in the coming EU legislative period to ensure the continuation of the social paradigm shift.

After weeks of tug-of-war, the EU Member States confirmed the EU Supply Chain Act in the Committee of the Permanent Representatives on 15 March 2024. The provisional agreement on the EU ban on products from forced labour was endorsed there on 13 March 2024. The two pieces of legislation still need to be formally adopted by the plenary of the EU Parliament and the Council.

The EU Council of Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs adopted the Platform Work Directive on 11 March 2024. Previously, two attempts to adopt the Directive had failed, even though an agreement had already been reached in December 2023. The Directive addresses precarious working conditions in the platform economy and strengthens the role of trade unions.

The creation of an EU Job Guarantee could counteract long-term unemployment, tackle poverty and at the same time contribute to a green and just transition. In February 2024, AK EUROPA organised an event in Brussels to advance the debate on this at EU level. Existing Job Guarantee models and the challenges and opportunities of their implementation were discussed.

The 13th Ministerial Conference, which took place from 26 February to 2 March 2024, was unable to lead the World Trade Organisation out of its deadlock. The organisation has been in crisis for some time and has been deemed incapable of acting since 2019. The reasons for this are to be found in long-standing structural weaknesses, which are exacerbated by current geopolitical developments. Socially and environmentally sustainable global trade remains out of reach.