156
9. Reimagining Eu opean policy: skills,
inequali y, and he pa h o con e gence
S e en Dhond , Lei e Aldaz Od iozola and
Ul ich Zie ahn-Weilage
INTRODUCTION
This book syn hesises he indings om ou GI-NI Ho izon 2020 p ojec
o de i e policy implica ions conce ning inequali y and skills. Inequali y is
a opic ha has been on he scien i ic and poli ical agenda since he ea lies
days o social science publica ions. This book a gues ha inequali y should
emain on he policy agenda o he Eu opean Union (EU) and i s Membe
S a es. New o ms o inequali y a ise, new challenges pose hemsel es, and
poli icians need o econside solu ions and app oaches. Howe e , e en i ou
esul s a e con incing, cu en ly, he opic o inequali y may be s uggling o
a en ion.
I is wo h men ioning ha a e he i s yea o he GI-NI p ojec , we had
he oppo uni y o discuss ou ini ial esul s wi h P o esso Luc Soe e. As one
o he leading hinke s in Eu ope on inno a ion (Schwaag-Se ge e al., 2024),
he challenged us o look a ou esea ch esul s wi hin he con ex o he ime
(i.e., 2022). The esea ch p og amme was concei ed a he end o 2019. We
w o e in o ou p oposal ha COVID-19 migh be a ‘black swan’ o ou p o-
g amme. No only did he COVID-19 pandemic a ec ou esea ch, bu we
we e con on ed by he Uk aine wa , he Eu opean minimum wage legisla ion,
and he changeo e s in policies in he Uni ed S a es (US). A he s a o ou
esea ch, we had no buil in ac i i ies ha explici ly conside ed hese de elop-
men s. Le us e isi he challenge ha P o esso Soe e posed o us.
This chap e elabo a es on why a econside a ion o inequali y and skills o
he Eu opean policy agenda is needed. We build on he discussions s a ed in
he p e ious chap e s, connec hem o he cu en in e na ional con ex , and
explain how e y di e en de elopmen s, such as globalisa ion and poli ical
ealignmen s wi hin and be ween coun ies, can be connec ed o his deba e
on inequali y, skills, and ans o ma ion. The chap e s in his book con ain
10.4337/9781035373659-13
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Reimagining Eu opean policy 157
di e en pe spec i es on inequali y, all in need o policy esponses. We b ing
hese pe spec i es oge he in a inal conclusion.
This chap e is s uc u ed a ound i e opics. Fi s , we p esen he challenges
ha he GI-NI p ojec has aced. Second, we discuss how he cu en discus-
sion can be in e p e ed and how o p og ess. We use he amewo k p esen ed
by Acemoglu (2024) o con ex ualise ou esul s and cla i y he policy implica-
ions. Thi d, we a gue why echnology i sel is insu icien o unde s and he
issue o inequali y. Fou h, we explain how o unde s and he GI-NI esul s
om an inclusi i y pe spec i e. Finally, we e lec on a edi ec ion o he pol-
icy agenda o he EU.
A CHALLENGED SOCIAL AGENDA
The Eu opean Pa liamen ag eed on 19 Oc obe 2022 wi h he Minimum
Wages Di ec i e (Di ec i e (EU) 2022/2041 o he Eu opean Pa liamen and
o he Council on adequa e minimum wages in he Eu opean Union [OJ L 275,
25.10.2022, pp. 33–471]). The goal o he di ec i e was ou old: o p o ide
wo ke s wi h a decen s anda d o li ing, educe in-wo k po e y, p omo e
social cohesion and upwa d social con e gence, and educe he gende pay
gap.
In he economic li e a u e, minimum income egula ions ha e encoun e ed
mixed esponses. On he one hand, minimum income p o ides guidance o
employe s o adjus o he eali y o highe wages. They need o ocus on ac i i-
ies ha gene a e mo e income, and s a au oma ing ac i i ies o which he
labou ac o becomes oo expensi e. On he o he hand, minimum wages can
ha e unin ended side e ec s i hey a e se oo high. Fo example, G ego y and
Zie ahn (2022) ind ha an excep ionally high minimum wage in a low-wage
indus y in Ge many ac ually educed he eal wages o skilled wo ke s. While
hese impac s may be help ul om an inequali y pe spec i e (less wage dispe -
sion), he impac s on high-skilled wo ke s may no be help ul o he ansi-
ions ha he indus ies need o make. Ne e heless, his is an excep ional
scena io, and mode a e minimum wages ypically a e no associa ed wi h such
nega i e side e ec s. Fo he ade unions, he EU policy change was an impo -
an ic o y. Up o 2022, he p og ess in he social domain has emained qui e
limi ed. The Eu opean Pilla o Social Righ s (EPSR) (2017) came a e a
pe iod o c ushing aus e i y policies. The Juncke Commission wan ed o ese
he Eu opean agenda away om cos -cu ing o a mo e inspi ing pe spec i e
o social igh s (Du a, 2024).
1 h p://da a .eu opa .eu /eli /di /2022 /2041 /oj
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Technology, globalisa ion and mig a ion158
The EPSR con ains aspi a ional objec i es on which no uni y o ision exis s
ac oss Eu opean coun ies. When he EU pu he minimum wage di ec i e on
he agenda, he e was signi ican esis ance om employe s and speci ic coun-
ies. Ne e heless, he di ec i e was accep ed because o he aus e i y policies
o p e ious yea s. Al hough he social domain was no ac ually a Eu opean
policy domain, i was p ecisely in he aus e i y policy ha coun ies we e gi en
di ec ion in he social domain. Employe s could no d yly claim ha he social
domain was excluded om Eu opean policy. T ade unions achie ed a signi i-
can shi in social policy in he Eu opean domain wi h he minimum wage
di ec i e (Du a, 2024; Na ili & Ronchi, 2024).
In he same ime ame, he COVID-19 pandemic hi Eu ope, and Russia
in aded Uk aine. The p essu e o bo h on he a ious na ional budge s in
Eu ope has been qui e subs an ial. I is clea ha go e nmen s a e ha ing o
pu he b akes on budge s again, and he Eu opean social domain is coming
unde enewed p essu e. I does no help he social domain ha in he US, he
new policy is ocused on maximum cu ing o go e nmen spending. Eu opean
social policy has landed in a acuum wi h g ea unce ain y abou wha will be
ealised o he high ambi ions in he coming yea s. This was appa en in he
policy agenda o he new Eu opean Commission ha s a ed in 2025. Ini ially,
he e was li le e e ence o he EPSR. The social agenda has been eplaced
by an ‘ac i a ion agenda’ in which indi idual ci izens ha e o ake ca e o
hei own social issues. Acco ding o he Commission Wo k P og amme 2025
(COM[2025] 45 inal), which lis s he mos signi ican new policy and leg-
isla i e ini ia i es o be implemen ed in he o hcoming yea , jus h ee o
he 45 new ini ia i es a e aligned wi h he policy objec i e o social ai ness.
Among hem, a new non-legisla i e ac ion plan o implemen he EPSR is
expec ed by he end o he yea .
Does his change emo e inequali y om he poli ical agenda?
A MODEL TO INTERPRET SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND
INEQUALITY
Inequali y emains an impo an opic in he scien i ic deba e. I Google Books
Ng am Viewe is o be belie ed, opics such as inequali y and he ‘Gini coe -
icien ’ ha e gained ac ion in ecen yea s2. The opic o ‘inequali y’ also
emains wo h a Nobel P ize in Economics: In No embe 2024, P o esso
Da on Acemoglu, P o esso Simon Johnson, and P o esso James A. Robinson
we e awa ded o hei wo k on ins i u ions and inequali y. Du ing his
2 The da a s ops in 2023, and hese opics may ha e since become less p omi-
nen in esea ch and publica ions.
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Reimagining Eu opean policy 159
accep ance speech, Da on Acemoglu p esen ed a simple amewo k o cha -
ac e ise and assess a la ge numbe o his o ical mo emen s ha he has been
s udying o e he decades3. The amewo k has i s limi a ions, bu i helps him
o e lec on and ein e p e his en i e body o wo k. This amewo k is equally
use ul o con ex ualising he esul s in his book and de i ing policy implica-
ions om hem. Fi s , we p esen he amewo k below be o e using he model
o ame he indings o ou book and he GI-NI p ojec o inequali y.
The cen epiece o his amewo k is he U ili y–Technology Possibili ies
F on ie (UTPF), which in o ms us abou he le els o u ili y, wel a e, o p os-
pe i y ha di e en g oups can achie e gi en ins i u ional and echnological
choices. Figu e 9.1 summa ises he main hough o Acemoglu. He conside s
a wo ld wi h jus wo g oups, he ich and he poo , wi h he assump ion ha
he ich a e ini ially poli ically mo e powe ul/dominan . This simpli ica ion
se es o illus a e he a gumen s. He s a s wi h a ade-o in u ili y ha he
ich (U ) make on one side, e sus he poo (Up) on he o he side. In his p es-
en a ion, he also uses he con as o employe s (o Capi al) e sus employees
( he Labou ac o ). Technology can play a ole in aking he u ili y cu e o a
highe le el (mo e p ospe i y). The ou side on ie in Figu e 9.1 ep esen s he
on ie o po en ial u ili y le els ha he wo g oups can each. Close o he
axes, he cu e is inwa d-shaping, highligh ing ha e y unequal dis ibu ions
a e Pa e o-in e io . Tha is, o example, i he poo a e e y poo , aising hei
u ili y le el also aises he u ili y le el o he ich – o example, because ewe
in es men s in o ga ed communi ies a e necessa y. The le -poin ing a ows
indica e a mo emen on he on ie , which is ypically associa ed wi h ising
u ili y o one g oup a he expense o he o he g oup. This ypically e lec s
ela i e shi s in powe ela ions. A shi o he le bene i s ich g oups; a shi
o he igh bene i s poo g oups.
The shi emains on he on ie when socie y can use ‘e icien ’ ools.
Howe e , he ou comes a e as ly di e en . Poin B esul s in highe p o i s o
wo ke s, while Poin A a ou s capi al owne s. Remaining a Poin C, a a lowe
u ili y cu e han possible, c ea es an economic lose s’ mechanism, meaning
mo e p og ess is possible, bu i is blocked by speci ic ins i u ions. Acemoglu
de i es om his o y ha he e olu ion o ade-o s in u ili y be ween di e en
g oups has no been a neu al ac i i y. The ich a e su icien ly poli ically pow-
e ul o a ac he mos u ili y o hemsel es. The poo can only a ac mo e
u ili y h ough ha d s uggle. Acemoglu also ci es se e al his o ical examples
whe e he ich and powe ul we e willing o block new echnological applica-
ions ( hink o Galileo) i hey we e con inced ha he new echnology would
3 h p s://w ww .nobelp i ze .o g /p ize s /e conom ic -sc iences /20 24 /a cemoglu /
speech/
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Technology, globalisa ion and mig a ion160
p o ide mo e oppo uni ies o he poo o a ac mo e u ili y o hemsel es.
Technological p og ess is hus no a linea p ocess bu depends on his balanc-
ing o in e es s. Acemoglu uses his model o desc ibe o he si ua ions ha may
a ise. A ‘holdup’ by he ich can a ise when mo ing o a highe u ili y cu e
b ings bene i s mainly o he poo . The ich may e ain om u he in es -
ing ( he ‘holdup’) as hey do no su icien ly bene i om hose. This implies
a lowe - han-op imal le el o in es men and u ili y. This is wha Acemoglu
calls he economic lose s mechanism. The ich p e e a si ua ion in which all
lose, bu hey e ain hei poli ical and economic powe . A ‘collapse o s a e
capaci y’ is a si ua ion whe e he s a e is misused o keep money lowing o he
Sou ce: Acemoglu (2024).
Figu e 9.1 U ili y– echnology possibili ies on ie
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Reimagining Eu opean policy 161
ich, and ins i u ions a e misused o s ee incen i es in he w ong di ec ion. He
also p esen s he economic lose s and he poli ical lose s. The o me e e s o
he loss o economic bene i s by he ich due o ins i u ional o echnological
changes o which hey a e e icen . The la e co esponds o he empo a y
concession made by he ich o he poo in o de o s ay in powe . He highligh s
he impo ance o ins i u ions and he use ulness o he on ie s o ackle hese
issues. Using Acemoglu’s hinking o make sense o cu en de elopmen s in
he US is no di icul .
Acemoglu’s amewo k helps us o unde s and how he di ec ion o ech-
nological change is shaped by ins i u ions, g oups’ in e es s, and he balance
o powe . Fo example, some public ala mis s claim ha hal o he jobs a e
a “ isk o compu e isa ion” (see, e.g., F ey & Osbo ne, 2017). We show in
Chap e 2 ha such claims a e exagge a ed and mislead he public deba e in o
a alse ea o a jobless u u e while missing ha hey a e he key p oblem is
ising inequali y. Based on such claims, Ca l Benedik F ey, in his book The
Technology T ap (F ey, 2019), a gues ha esis ance o echnological de elop-
men would come mainly om he wo ke s. Wo ke s would no unde s and he
possible long- e m posi i e e ec s o echnology and would esis change. In
pa icula , his example is he s uggle o he Luddi es in 1810–1813 agains he
Spinning Jenny and o he au oma ion. F ey ea s ha wo ke s’ esis ance o he
la es echnologies, such as obo isa ion and a i icial in elligence (AI), would
hinde u he p og ess. Howe e , Acemoglu’s amewo k highligh s ha he
di ec ion o echnological change and he deg ee o which new echnologies
a e implemen ed a e ac ually shaped by ins i u ions, powe ela ionships and
g oup in e es s. Those who con ol he esou ces o in es ing in echnological
change a e likely o shape he in ensi y and di ec ion o echnological change
o hei own bene i , no conside ing wha would be op imal o socie y as a
whole. This may esul in a si ua ion whe e he poo lose ou . Whe he o no
echnological change is labou -displacing is in i sel an endogenous ou come
ha policymake s can y o shape by de eloping sui able ins i u ions.
THE LIMITS OF INDUSTRY 4.0
This amewo k helps us con ex ualise he esea ch indings o he p e ious
chap e s in he book and he GI-NI p ojec . I is also impo an o unde s and
he con ex in which he GI-NI p ojec was de eloped. The Technology T ap
explained he impac o new echnologies mainly as labou subs i u ing. F ey
ea ed ha Wes e n socie y would s op p og essing because he wo king class
esis ed echnological ad ancemen s. His ea was a esu gence o Luddism,
as echnology p ima ily subs i u ed labou o capi al. Howe e , echnologi-
cal de elopmen is no exogenous, and policymake s should ocus on shaping
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Technology, globalisa ion and mig a ion162
ins i u ions ha di ec echnological change owa ds a pa h ha is bene icial
o socie y as a whole.
In 2019, he e was s ill a s ong belie in he possibili ies o Indus y 4.0.
Indus y 4.0 was an indus ial policy launched in Ge many ha ocused
en i ely on ‘connec ed echnologies’. The policy was launched in 2011 a he
Hanno e Messe, he majo Ge man echnology ai . Indus y 4.0 was adop ed
a he EU-le el o eplace a policy ocused on knowledge de elopmen (Lisbon
Agenda).
Expec a ions o his connec ed echnology we e also high. Applica ions
such as cobo s and AI we e expec ed o lead o massi e labou subs i u ion,
as indica ed abo e. A n z e al. (A n z e al., 2017) and ins i u ions such as
he O ganisa ion o Economic Co-ope a ion and De elopmen (Nedelkoska
& Quin ini, 2018) highligh ed ha such ea s a e exagge a ed, ha he eal
challenge is changing skill equi emen s and ising inequali y, and ha poli-
cymake s should a he ocus on how o enable wo ke s o make use o new
echnologies o aising p ospe i y a he han seeing hem as a compe i o .
This b ings us o he i s GI-NI esea ch indings commen ed on in his
book.
Fi s , he esul s can be in e p e ed in o Acemoglu’s model. The la es con-
nec ed echnologies and obo s we e expec ed o push he echnology on ie
upwa ds. In he model, Indus y 4.0 echnologies allow he u ili y unc ion
o mo e upwa ds. Wi h his shi , companies and wo ke s should be mo i-
a ed o seize new oppo uni ies. Howe e , esea ch by A n z e al. (2024b)
e ealed ha he speed o echnology adop ion is slow. While a la ge sha e o
i ms ei he al eady use new echnologies o conside using hem soon, hose
echnologies make up only abou 8–9 pe cen o he o al capi al s ock. The
si ua ion can be compa ed o he in oduc ion o he elec ic ca : while he
sha e o elec ic ca s in new sales is la ge, hei sha e in he o al s ock o ca s
emains small because ca s a e ypically used o many yea s, and eplacing
all ca s akes ime. Ne e heless, A n z e al. (2024a) show ha he adop ion
o new echnologies also con inues o be associa ed wi h declining ou ine
asks. In e es ingly, his is mos ly d i en by i m he e ogenei y. Thei ind-
ings indica e ha i ms equi e complemen a y in es men s in he igh skills
o success ully adop new echnologies. Fu he , hei indings sugges ha
an accele a ion o echnology adop ion would be associa ed wi h as e de-
ou inisa ion and an inc ease in be ween- i m he e ogenei y.
Why ha e mo e companies no aken his leap? A second s udy in he p o-
jec was conce ned wi h he ise o ma k-ups in Spain. In he US, companies
such as Amazon, Google and Facebook we e o med du ing he Indus y 4.0
pe iod. All hese ‘supe s a ’ companies a e making maximum use o he la -
es echnologies. These companies a e able o le e age hese new echnolo-
gies o cha ge p ices ha a exceed hei ma ginal cos , gi ing hese i ms
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Reimagining Eu opean policy 163
majo ma ke powe and calling hem ma k-ups. The ques ion in he GI-NI
p ojec was, he e o e, whe he he la es Indus y 4.0 echnology would enable
Eu opean companies o gene a e and a ac mo e p o i s. Smolka & Taleb (in
A n z e al., 2024) examined whe he simila indus y ends o hose in he US
we e ound in Spain. The ques ion was whe he ma k-ups – caused by s ong
ma ke concen a ion whe e a ew i ms ake he majo i y o p o i s – occu ed.
The answe was no. Technology os e s mo e compe i ion a he han concen-
a ion. In o he wo ds, labou -sa ing echnology may shi he axis, bu ew
companies o wo ke s bene i om he p omised highe u ili y. Ou esul s
wi h Indus y 4.0 a e consis en wi h an ins i u ional con ex whe e he bene i s
p ima ily acc ue o capi al.
The p elimina y message is clea : i is insu icien o ocus solely on echnol-
ogy o p edic p og ess. Jus because echnology enables signi ican ad ance-
men s does no mean he u ili y o g oups will inc ease. I is e en unclea i
he Indus y 4.0 echnologies allow companies o each highe u ili y unc ions
in e ms o he Acemoglu amewo k. The belie ha he supe s a compa-
nies ha e an insu moun able lead and will accumula e eno mous alue is no
gua an eed. The example o he Chinese i m DeepSeek4 illus a es his poin .
Companies such as OpenAI, Google, and Facebook assumed ha hey had a
echnological head s a wi h la ge language models and p i ileged access o
high-pe o ming compu e p ocessing powe . DeepSeek showed ha he mod-
els could be eplica ed wi h signi ican ly lowe in es men and signi ican ly
less compu e powe , as was expec ed ea lie . Simila ly, Smolka & Taleb’s
esea ch (in A n z e al., 2024) on he Spanish indus ial sec o s ein o ces his
conclusion.
Gi en hese esul s, wha does his mean o such a policy as Indus y 4.0?
In 2021, he Eu opean Commission launched an al e na i e indus ial policy
called Indus y 5.0 (B eque e al., 2021). The idea was ha he implemen a-
ion o digi al echnologies equi ed a mo e human-cen ic app oach by com-
panies o become mo e success ul. A i s , he shi o Indus y 5.0 was no
ully unde s ood in he scien i ic ield. Many echnologis s assumed ha he
Eu opean Commission was poin ing o a new echnological e olu ion g a ed
on o echnologies ha we e mo e people-cen ed (Co onado e al., 2022).
Ini ially, echnology expe s ques ioned wha concep s like human-cen ici y,
sus ainabili y, and esilience uly mean . They quickly began ad oca ing o
‘human-cen ed echnology’, meaning echnology ha is ully pe sonalised
(Rojas e al., 2018). Howe e , in doing so, hey ailed o communica e he
message e ec i ely. Ra he han s essing he pe sonalisa ion o echnology,
he policy s essed he need o include he wo k o ce in he de elopmen and
4 h ps://www .bbc .com /news /a icles /c5y 5976z9po
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Technology, globalisa ion and mig a ion164
implemen a ion o digi al echnologies. The co e idea was ha he capabili ies
o new echnologies we e misunde s ood. S udies s a ed o show ha mos
connec ed echnologies we e no p ima ily ‘labou -subs i u ing’ bu a he
‘labou -augmen ing’, meaning ha hey enhanced wo ke s’ capabili ies (Au o
e al., 2020). Making be e use o hese echnologies equi es building on he
inpu o he use s o hese echnologies. The implica ions can be modelled
using he amewo k by Acemoglu. Figu e 9.2 shows h ee lines: he hick da k
line is he s a ing poin , as indica ed in he p e ious Figu e 9.1. This line can
shi o he igh , as shown wi h he g ey b oken cu e (B); his shi can ex end
o C, wi h a mo e o he do ed line. A shi o he igh indica es inc eased
oppo uni ies o labou o bene i om echnological de elopmen . The igu e
indica es ha a shi o he u ili y o a highe le el is possible. The logic he e
is ha only h ough he coope a ion o he labou o ce can he leap o a new
on ie be achie ed. The consequence is ha mos o he new u ili y is p ob-
ably c eamed o by he labou ac o . The s udy by A n z e al. (2024b) u he
suppo s his by showing ha mos Indus y 4.0 companies enhance skilled
Sou ce: Adap ed om Acemoglu (2024).
Figu e 9.2 Technological change in a ou o he labou ac o
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Reimagining Eu opean policy 171
p ima y obs acle o Eu ope’s economic decline. The assump ion is ha inc eas-
ing access o en u e capi al could d i e echnology and inno a ion. No only
do we need o es uc u e he inno a ion e o by looking a how companies
und hei expansion, bu we also need o unde s and how inno a ion is d i en
wi hin hese companies. A e echnologies mainly labou -subs i u ing o a e
hey labou -enhancing? As he esea ch seems o indica e, cu en echnolo-
gies a e mainly augmen ing he capabili ies o wo ke s. Wo ke s need o be a
he cen e o he changes wi hin companies. F om he Acemoglu pe spec i e,
labou augmen a ion may equi e mo e a en ion o he wo ke s’ u ili y.
Eu ope ecognises ha a ious ins i u ional ba ie s hinde p og ess, inno-
a ion, and upscaling o inno a ions. Achie emen s occu when hese ba i-
e s a e add essed sys ema ically. China’s success in echnological ca ch-up
h ough s a egic imi a ion o e he pas 40 yea s o e s aluable lessons. The
esul s o he s udies in he GI-NI p ojec con i m ha Eas e n EU coun ies
can p o i ex ensi ely om in es men s om Wes e n EU companies. The
challenge o Eu ope is o collabo a e mo e e ec i ely, enhance inno a ion,
and s eng hen compe i i eness while p io i ising social inclusion. The policy
agenda o Indus y 5.0 is well-posi ioned o make maximum use o he inpu
om wo ke s o adap o echnological change.
The discussion on echnology and social policy has shi ed o e ime. In he
con ex o echnology as mainly labou subs i u ing, he idea was o de elop
new social app oaches, such as a uni e sal basic income (Hiilamo, 2022). In
he con ex o labou -augmen ing echnologies, a skills and inclusion s a egy
is c ucial. Howe e , gi en he new poli ical eali y in he US, inclusi eness
policies a e mo e and mo e de ined as con a y o he needs o blue-colla o -
e s and disenchan ed g oups. E en he Eu opean agenda is shi ing because o
he ea o a - igh populis s. The ac ha employmen ini ially disappea ed
om he Eu opean agenda6 and was only la e eins a ed e lec s a lack o cla -
i y wi hin he Eu opean Commission abou wha lies a he co e o Eu ope’s
ajec o y. The belie ha inclusi eness is less impo an is, om he pe spec-
i e o he esul s o his book, a undamen al mis ake. Blue-colla jobs may
ha e disappea ed o e e and a e no likely o e u n. E en China is shi ing
away om adi ional ac o y wo k7. Any u u e jobs ha will be c ea ed will
no be i o pu pose o blue-colla wo ke s. Access o new jobs equi es u -
he de eloping inclusi eness. Social policies need o ake his in eg a ion o
wo ke s e en mo e se iously han in he pas .
6 h ps://w ww .b o ok i ngs .e du /a icle s /u n lea sh i ng -new -qu a l i y -p o duc i e
- o ces -chinas -s a egy - o - echnology -led -g ow h/
7 h ps://w ww .b o ok i ngs .e du /a icle s /u n lea sh i ng -new -qu a l i y -p o duc i e
- o ces -chinas -s a egy - o - echnology -led -g ow h/
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Technology, globalisa ion and mig a ion172
Two key obse a ions a ise he e. The populis mo emen s a e o en pe -
cei ed as a ool o disman le social Eu ope o , mo e b oadly, social secu i y in
he Membe S a es. Howe e , we need o unde s and he ise o hese mo e-
men s om a b oade pe spec i e. The challenge is ha he populis s a e a
agmen ed mo emen , wi h some ac ions being ul a-libe al and o he s lean-
ing u he le han adi ional le is pa ies. De eloping a s onge social
EU can se e as a s a egy o o ce hese mo emen s in o making de ini i e
choices, po en ially causing in e nal di isions. The Eu opean social agenda is,
he e o e, no only abou add essing ci izens’ needs; i is also a s a egic poli i-
cal agenda. The u u e policy agenda should no emain limi ed o economic
ins umen s. The cu en global poli ical en i onmen shows ha he Eu opean
eac ion is insu icien o deal wi h he many changes. A subsidy p og amme
will no be su icien o deal wi h he u u e challenges.
The bo om line, as discussed by Hulsegge e al. (2024), is ha economic
and social con e gence canno be achie ed wi hou poli ical con e gence.
Eu opean uni ica ion mus be pu back on he agenda. This was no ini ially
pa o U sula on de Leyen’s plan, ye de elopmen s in he global discus-
sions, o example wi h Uk aine and G eenland, demons a e ha he cu en
Eu opean poli ical decision-making s uc u es a e ou da ed. The same applies
o issues o skills, inequali y, echnology, globalisa ion, and mig a ion. As
s a ed a he s a o his concluding chap e , inequali y emains, and will con-
inue o be, a cen al heme in academic esea ch and EU policy.
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