Patrick ten Brink

Patrick ten Brink is deputy secretary general and director of the EU policy unit of the European Environmental Bureau.

Patrick ten Brink

Pollution: no acceptable levels

Patrick ten Brink, Margherita Tolotto and Sergiy Moroz 15th June 2021

‘Zero pollution’ is a very good goal for the European Union to adopt—but only if zero means zero.

Leaving behind the EU’s deadly addiction to deregulation

Patrick ten Brink 3rd March 2021

Better regulation is benevolent and participatory, cognisant of complexity and future-oriented. Deregulation it is not.

Returning our food systems to business as usual would be a historic mistake

Patrick ten Brink 23rd April 2020

Amid the coronavirus crisis, some are calling for a deferral of European ecological action. Yet unsustainable food systems are one source of new human diseases.

Towards a new Minimum Wage Policy in Germany and Europe: WSI minimum wage report 2022

The past year has seen a much higher political profile for the issue of minimum wages, not only in Germany, which has seen fresh initiatives to tackle low pay, but also in those many other countries in Europe that have embarked on substantial and sustained increases in statutory minimum wages. One key benchmark in determining what should count as an adequate minimum wage is the threshold of 60 per cent of the median wage, a ratio that has also played a role in the European Commission's proposals for an EU-level policy on minimum wages. This year's WSI Minimum Wage Report highlights the feasibility of achieving minimum wages that meet this criterion, given the political will. And with an increase to 12 euro per hour planned for autumn 2022, Germany might now find itself promoted from laggard to minimum-wage trailblazer.

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Bilan social / Social policy in the EU: state of play 2021 and perspectives

The new edition of the Bilan social 2021, co-produced by the European Social Observatory (OSE) and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), reveals that while EU social policy-making took a blow in 2020, 2021 was guided by the re-emerging social aspirations of the European Commission and the launch of several important initiatives. Against the background of Covid-19, climate change and the debate on the future of Europe, the French presidency of the Council of the EU and the von der Leyen commission must now be closely scrutinised by EU citizens and social stakeholders.

AVAILABLE HERE

Living and working in Europe 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic continued to be a defining force in 2021, and Eurofound continued its work of examining and recording the many and diverse impacts across the EU. Living and working in Europe 2021 provides a snapshot of the changes to employment, work and living conditions in Europe. It also summarises the agency’s findings on issues such as gender equality in employment, wealth inequality and labour shortages. These will have a significant bearing on recovery from the pandemic, resilience in the face of the war in Ukraine and a successful transition to a green and digital future.

AVAILABLE HERE

EU Care Atlas: a new interactive data map showing how care deficits affect the gender earnings gap in the EU

Browse through the EU Care Atlas, a new interactive data map to help uncover what the statistics are often hiding: how care deficits directly feed into the gender earnings gap.

While attention is often focused on the gender pay gap (13%), the EU Care Atlas brings to light the more worrisome and complex picture of women’s economic inequalities. The pay gap is just one of three main elements that explain the overall earnings gap, which is estimated at 36.7%. The EU Care Atlas illustrates the urgent need to look beyond the pay gap and understand the interplay between the overall earnings gap and care imbalances.

BROWSE THROUGH THE MAP

Pollution: no acceptable levels

Leaving behind the EU’s deadly addiction to deregulation

Returning our food systems to business as usual would be a historic mistake

FREE DOWNLOAD

AVAILABLE HERE

AVAILABLE HERE

BROWSE THROUGH THE MAP

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