The OSE participated in the second phase of the Feasibility Study for a Child Guarantee (FSCG 2), as thematic expert for the policy area “healthcare”. The study, coordinated by Anne-Catherine Guio, Hugh Frazer and Eric Marlier (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, LISER) provides a detailed economic analysis of the design, governance, costs, benefits and implementation options of this important EU initiative. It focuses on access to free healthcare, education, childcare as well as decent housing and adequate nutrition.
Healthcare
Since 2014, the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) has been supporting the European Commission with independent information, analysis and expertise on social policies to foster the development of evidence-based social policy initiatives at European level. In particular, the ESPN supports the Commission in monitoring progress towards the EU’s social protection and social inclusion objectives as set out in the Europe 2020 Strategy, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the European Semester.
The OSE was contracted by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) to conduct research, which will result in the 18th edition of the joint edited volume. It will feature renowned academic scholars — Daniel Clegg, Amandine Crespy, Maria João Rodrigues, Vivien Schmidt and Mario Telò — as well as OSE and ETUI contributors. Editors: Bart Vanhercke, Sebastiano Sabato and Denis Bouget.
In 2013, as a response to rising inequalities, poverty and distrust in the EU, the Commission launched a major endeavour to rebalance economic and social policies with the Social Investment Package (SIP). Funded under the Horizon 2020 Programme, the RE-InVEST project aims to strengthen the philosophical, institutional and empirical underpinnings of the SIP, based on social investment in human rights and capabilities. The project will actively involve European citizens severely affected by the crisis in the co-construction of a more powerful and effective social investment agenda.
The OSE was awarded a new project for providing the Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (NIHDI) with expertise and analysis on EU policies with a potential impact on national health care systems. This project is the continuation of a longstanding collaboration between the OSE and the NIHDI in this field.
The project includes :
The OSE was contracted by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) to conduct research, which resulted in a book on “Social Policy in the European Union: State of Play 2015”. The 16th edition of this edited volume (published in September) features external scholars (Richard Hyman, Vivien Schmidt and Jonathan Zeitlin) as well as OSE and ETUI contributers.
The OSE was awarded a contract with the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), in order to conduct research on health care reforms undertaken during the Great Recession. In a scenario of increasing budget constraints, the health sector has become an attractive target for policymakers seeking to rein in social spending, not least due to its size and potential for efficiency gains.
The European Social Policy Network (ESPN) was established in July 2014 on the initiative of the European Commission to provide high quality and timely independent information, advice, analysis and expertise on social policy issues in the European Union and neighbouring countries. In particular, the ESPN will support the Commission in monitoring progress towards the EU’s social protection and social inclusion objectives as set out in the Europe 2020 Strategy, the Social Open Method of Coordination and the Social Investment Package.
At the request of the European Public Services Union (EPSU), the OSE is carrying out a study on the Europeanisation of health care policies and its impact on health care systems, workers and patients. The study’s aim is to understand how national health policies, health care systems and the health care workforce are impacted by the European Union’s policies and law on the exercise of the fundamental freedoms of the internal market.
The OSE has been contracted by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) to conduct research with a view to publishing a book on the “Social developments in the European Union 2011”. Apart from the OSE researchers, the 12th edition of this publication figures authors such as Giuliano Amato and Yves Mény (on the paradoxes around EU institutional developments in 2011), Patrick Diamond and Roger Liddle (on the Eurozone’s fitful search for better economic governance) as well as Christophe Degryse and Philippe Pochet (on the worrying trends in the new European governance).