Documents Petmesidou, Maria 6 results

"This article compares the welfare reform dynamics and rescaling processes over the last few years in Greece and Portugal. It comprises four main sections. After an introduction, the second section briefly describes the salient features of social security, healthcare and labour market policy in the two countries in the years prior to the crisis. It also sets out the major dimensions of comparison. The third section provides a short account of the unfolding of the crisis and the common pressures for structural adjustment, while the fourth section examines the policy options and outputs in the above three policy domains under the bail-out. In the light of the major points of comparison put forward, the interplay of external and internal factors in welfare state reform and rescaling are analysed in section five. The conclusion briefl y points to restrictions and challenges in the post-crisis era."

"Der Artikel befasst sich mit den Auswirkungen der Eurokrise auf die Gesundheitspolitik in Italien, Spanien, Portugal und Griechenland. Haben die Regierungen dieser Länder die Eurokrise ausschließlich zu einem drastischen Rückbau des staatlichen Gesundheitswesens genutzt, oder hat die Krise längerfristige Reformstrategien hervorgerufen, die auf eine nachhaltige Ausbalancierung fiskalischer Restriktionen mit dem Streben nach einer verbesserten Leistungsfähigkeit der Gesundheitssysteme gerichtet sind? Nach einer knappen Darstellung der Merkmale der einzelnen Gesundheitssysteme vor Ausbruch der Krise vergleichen wir die Bewältigungsstrategien der einzelnen Länder, die auf unterschiedliche Kombinationen von Ausgabenkürzung, Umstrukturierung und Neujustierung setzen, und analysieren die Auswirkungen der durch Sparzwänge bedingten Reformen auf aktuelle (und erwartete) Gesundheitsergebnisse. Wir schließen mit Überlegungen zur Zukunft der staatlichen Gesundheitsversorgung in Südeuropa."

"The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has brought occupational health and safety (OHS) to the fore, turning the leading role of the EU in this respect into a peremptory and pressing concern. The authors of this Opinion Paper argue in favour of moving beyond the current fragmented approach to OHS and placing it squarely in the field of social protection. This will allow for a holistic prevention and health promotion strategy, addressing old and new workplace hazards and overall wellbeing. Objectives to be reached should also include age-and gender-specific targeting, clearer legal and policy provisions, availability of research evidence, and enhanced monitoring of compliance with regulations."

"This article lays out an agenda for researching the social policy challenges facing the EU under the combined impact of a triple transition: green, digital and demographic. It takes as its starting point the double bind confronting the welfare state, pressured by increasing costs and serious socio-ecological concerns on the one hand, and the need, more daunting than ever, for protection against a vast array of imminent socio-economic, demographic and environmental risks, on the other. Against this background, it explores the complex web of synergies and trade-offs between the three transitions, examines the disjointed manner in which EU social policy has so far developed, and demonstrates the controversial stance of the EU's overarching strategic framework – the European Green Deal – on the issue of a socially just transition. It also maps key research foci and gaps deserving further study, including the role of key players in the transition. "

"This article investigates the transformative potential of the Next Generation EU (NG-EU) initiative in social protection taking South European (SE) countries as a test case. It starts with a brief examination of the main social parameters of the EPSR and how these intertwine with the NG-EU strategy that links recovery from the pandemic with the EU's long-term green and digital transition objectives. This is followed by a comparative overview of the SE countries' social, green and digital outlook when embarking upon the recovery path. In light of these, the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) of the four countries are scrutinised vis-à-vis the NG-EU specified priority flagship areas. The political background of the plans, the impact of the EPSR on their policy options, and their recalibration potential are comparatively analysed. In setting the course for a twin transition, all four plans share a focus on addressing long-standing social challenges mainly by bolstering productive welfare measures. But path-dependent differences in policy mixes and varying policy integration can weigh significantly on outcomes."