europeandatajournalism.eu (27.03.2023) Delivery, transport, but also business services: more and more workers are opting for self-employed status by using online platforms to obtain assignments. This is a common phenomenon throughout the European Union.

The book deals with the phenomenon of platform work and contains national reports (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom), other more transversal reports dealing with the issue of fundamental (collective) workers' rights, as well as the applicable European legal framework. The idea of the book is to underline differences and similarities between the Member States' Systems and the UK System and to understand if there is a common ground of rights and protections for platform workers in the EU.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has enormous potential to promote global economic growth by more than 15 trillion USD. Additionally, it can advance social good by helping to combat climate change and biodiversity loss, reduce human trafficking,  improve healthcare, and support achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. AI also can strengthen the national security of the United States and other countries.

consilium.europa.eu (30.01.2023) Council adopts recommendation on adequate minimum income This Council recommendation aims to combat poverty and social exclusion, and to pursue high levels of employment by promoting adequate income support by means of minimum income, effective access to enabling and essential services for persons lacking sufficient resources and by fostering labour market integration of those who can work.

ceps.eu (10.01.2023) Should we make SURE a permanent instrument? To answer this, one might look at whether SURE – as a loans-based financial instrument – has been effectively taken up by Member States and used to support Job Retention (JR) schemes and other similar measures.

European Commission (03.01.2023) Principle 17 of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) emphasises the right of people with disabilities to “income support that ensures living in dignity” as well as “services that enable them to participate in the labour market and in society”. This Synthesis Report prepared by the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) describes and analyses the conditions under which persons with disabilities aged 18 years and above have effective access to social protection.

- Independent.ie EU legislation which gives effect to a new European pensions savings regime is being introduced this week The Pan-European Personal Pension (PEPP) is a voluntary retirement savings option for EU citizens that complements existing pension schemes. It allows people to pay into the same scheme throughout the EU,  even if they move countries.

 European Commission (22.12.2021) The European Platform for Investing in Children (EPIC) has published a new report exploring how EU Member States supported working families throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

EURACTIV.com (09.12.2021) The EU will propose a set of criteria on Thursday (9 December) to determine whether a gig worker in Europe using platforms like Uber, Bolt or Deliveroo should be considered an employee. The proposal by the EU executive is an effort to sort out once and for all the employment status of millions of drivers and delivery people that the major platforms insist are self-employed. The debate has clogged up courts across Europe for almost a decade, with judges handing out more than a hundred decisions across the bloc’s 27 member states, with hundreds more still pending.

etui (2021) The Covid‑19 pandemic severely affected some categories of non-standard workers, and particularly the self‑employed.