This paper explores changes in the organisation of work in European nations over 2000-2010. Results show a decline in the Discretionary Learning (DL). Periods of economic expansion tend to be DL enhancing, while periods of economic stagnation tend to reinforce the use of more hierarchical forms...

The EU Services Directive was adopted in 2006 to foster competition in services across Europe. However, progress in liberalizing services has fallen short of expectations due to the article 15 of the Directive, which allows countries to maintain pre-existing restrictions if judged necessary to...

The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009 which marked a new step in the overall process of European integration. The purpose of the Lisbon Treaty is to enhance institutional efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the enlarged Union, as well as the coherence of its external...

New economic coordination has changed the landscape of EU governance (Amtenbrink, 2012). Its impact on the EU's social dimension is topic of political and scholarly debate. Some tend to argue that the EU has lost track of its social aspirations (e.g. Janssen, 2013; Watt, 2013; Clauwaert and Schömann,...

This paper sets out to explore the changes in the EU's coordination of employment and social policies after the introduction of stricter economic governance. It hypothesises that new economic governance has introduced characteristics of hard law into the soft law coordination cycles of...

This second edition of the Handbook builds on the success of the first edition. It informs local and regional authorities about the strategic potential of Europe 2020 in their area. It provides guidance and support to help regions and cities to network with each other in Europe and beyond, as...

Following the European Commission's guidelines, WIFO has undertaken a monitoring of the implementation of the Austrian National Reform Programme within the framework of the European 2020 growth strategy. The main components are an analysis of Austria's progress towards reaching its five EU 2020...

Kleine und mittlere Unternehmen in den südeuropäischen EU-Ländern haben oft nur begrenzten Zugang zu Krediten. Der Präsident des Europäischen Parlaments, Martin Schulz, möchte diese Unternehmen fördern, um die Arbeitslosigkeit zu verringern. Auch der neue Präsident der EUKommission,...