About
This political brief advocates for an urgent evolution of European welfare states. Recognising the heightened climate emergency-related risks faced by citizens, we emphasise the necessity to reinvent and expand welfare states to effectively respond to new threats.
We present a set of political proposals aimed at guiding this transformative process. These range from the systematic decarbonisation of existing welfare state infrastructures, to funding of an additional European welfare state sector, to new directives, new forms of European coordination, and the establishment of an EU monitoring body.
Each proposal is carefully selected based on its feasibility and implementability during the upcoming European legislature. We also highlight their capacity to spark public and political debates surrounding the intersection of climate emergency and welfare states policy.
This political brief is part of the GEF Knowledge Communities.
Philippe Pochet, a GEF fellow and author of this political brief, held the position of Director of the Observatoire Social Européen (OSE) for over 15 years. From 2008 to 2023, he served as the General Director of the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI). Currently, he is a Professor at the Catholic University of Louvain and a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges. He also holds the position of Affiliate Professor at Sant’Anna College, Pisa. Next to his work on the Climate Emergency and Welfare States at GEF, Philippe is also working with us on the EU Single Market.
Taube Van Melkebeke is GEF’s Policy Manager. She leads the different Knowledge Communities of the foundation. For further information, contact her at taube.vanmelkebeke@gef.eu
This political brief has been realised by the Green European Foundation with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this publication.