European Commission (09.11.2020) The report analyses the progress towards the Europe 2020 target on reducing poverty and social exclusion, together with the latest social trends to watch, and presents the key structural social challenges in each Member State. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic that has swept across Europe in 2020, the report also focuses on the decisive action taken by Member States to protect employment, income and access to services through a variety of measures.

This volume describes the health care and long-term care systems of all EU Member States on a country basis and presents the related policy challenges.

Finnish Centre for Pensions (02.04.2020) The European Commission has published instructions regarding the mobility of workers in EU during the exceptional circumstances caused by the corona epidemic. The Commission states that the regulations on the coordination of social security systems continue to be valid. The temporary exceptional circumstances do not change the social security status of mobile workers. The instructions by the Commission are indicative and they do not, in individual cases, bind the authorities in the Member States.

ec.europa.eu (16.07.2020) The European Commission presents Guidelines to ensure the protection of seasonal workers in the EU in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. It provides guidance to national authorities, labour inspectorates, and social partners to guarantee the rights, health and safety of seasonal workers, and to ensure that seasonal workers are aware of their rights. Cross-border seasonal workers enjoy a broad set of rights, but given the temporary nature of their work, they can be more vulnerable to precarious working and living conditions.

EURACTIV.com (04.06.2020) The upcoming German EU presidency intends to take up an initiative for an EU framework for minimum income systems. Shannon Pfohman looks at what this should look like.

 EURACTIV.com (18.05.2020) Temporary unemployment schemes operating across Europe could struggle to save the jobs of leisure and travel sector workers facing drawn-out or partial recoveries from the COVID-19 pandemic, even if they help industries that rebound quickly.

politico.eu (24.04.2020) EU national leaders directed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to draw up plans for a new long-term financial blueprint for the bloc that would also drive an economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis with a combination of loans and grants. 

European Council (23.04.2020) On 23 April 2020 EU leaders discussed progress on the various dimensions of the European response to the COVID-19 outbreak. It was the fourth video meeting of this kind. The heads of state or government endorsed the agreement of the Eurogroup on three safety nets for workers, businesses and sovereigns, amounting to a package worth 540 billion euro. They called for the package to be operational by 1 June 2020.

ec.europa.eu (02.04.2020) The new instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) is designed to help protect jobs and workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic. It will provide financial assistance, in the form of loans granted on favourable terms from the EU to Member States, of up to €100 billion in total. These loans will assist Member States to address sudden increases in public expenditure to preserve employment.