Wouter van de Klippe
@woutervandeklippe.bsky.social
Freelance EU labour journalist | MA Public Policy & Msc Science and Technology Studies. Substack: https://klippe.substack.com/ Website: https://wouter-vandeklippe.com/
Looks like a good first step in the direction of what many have been calling for for a very long time.
euobserver — EU news that matters@euobserver.com · 2mo agoVon der Leyen may be caving to Meloni, but on green investment, relaxing EU deficit limits is exactly right
Decided to shake the cobwebs off my neglected substack to give a little update on what I've been up to this year. From winning an award to all sorts of labour articles, you can read what I've been working on this year. klippe.substack.com/p/shaking-of...
Shaking off the cobwebs
Sharing some recent updates and what I’ve published so far in 2026.
klippe.substack.com
Acemoglu agreeing w Pope's AI encyclical: "Optimists and industry insiders will respond that automation-first AI can still benefit everyone...But this argument has a poor track record. Forty years of digital automation have already concentrated gains at the top, hollowed out middle-skill work..."
I've been working with @etuc-ces.bsky.social on the re-launch of the Digital Platform Observatory, which is now live. Click on any EU country on the map, you'll see an update on the transposition of the Platform Work Directive. Also info on strikes, agreements etc digitalplatformobservatory.org
Lavoratrici e lavoratori del sesso in Europa: il Belgio apre a più tutele, l’Ue resta divisa via @voxeurop.bsky.social di @woutervandeklippe.bsky.social voxeurop.eu/it/sex-worke...
voxeurop.eu
When the posters narrow the policy choices to 'work more or pay more for your state pension' instead of, I don't know, tax differently? Or a new social contract w green public abundant and lower state pensions?
YouGov@yougov.co.uk · 4mo agoWhat measures for making the state pension system more affordable do RETIRED Britons support? Require people to have private/workplace pensions: +57 net support Helping older workers stay in work longer: +32 Reduce funding for govt services for working age people: +3 yougov.com/en-gb/articl...
I urge everyone to follow @70sbachchan.bsky.social his posts are the only thing keeping me sane and chuckling throughout this catastrophe 😂
Albert Pinto@70sbachchan.bsky.social · 4mo agoThere you have it suckers…. Go get your own oil , just make sure to get a Time Machine and tell all those marine plankton to die extravagantly on your shores in the Triassic
The Dutch industry has enriched itself at the expense of temporary agency workers - many of them originating from fellow EU countries - against the principle of equal treatment as enshrined in EU law. Billions of euros are now at stake 👇 www.ftm.eu/articles/net...
Migrant workers risk missing out on billions in Dutch wage dispute
A potential mass lawsuit in the Netherlands is seeking back pay for temporary workers who were allegedly underpaid in breach of EU legislation. More than a million people could be eligible, and many o...
ftm.eu
Quite a week for us! 1/ our podcast is launched: “Electric World Order” is a short series about the geopolitics of energy transition; ep 1 is about how China’s industrial strategy kinda accidentally created Pakistan’s solar boom:
The Polycrisis
thepolycrisis.org
Europe spent years debating whether the energy transition was affordable. Spain quietly answered the question: gas now sets its electricity price in only 7% of hours. Strategic autonomy doesn’t arrive via summit communiqués. It’s built in advance — in wind farms, solar parks, and grid investment
Super interesting - also makes me think of the collective lack of imagination underlying the idea of simply replacing Internal combustion cars w/ EV's.
Albert Pinto@70sbachchan.bsky.social · 6mo agoWait what theconversation.com/the-worlds-2...
I'm in the latest edition of @etui.bsky.social's HesaMag with a story on Europe's divided views towards sex workers. While Belgium is expanding rights and legislating protections, Sweden clamps down on digital sex work. But what's the role for trade unions? Give the whole issue a read!
ETUI@etui.bsky.social · 6mo ago👀 Have you read the latest issue of HesaMag yet? 📰 Issue n°31 examines how #OSH policies still reflect a male norm, overlooking gendered risks at work. From psychosocial risks to #AI, care work, menopause & LGBTQIA+ inclusion, it calls for gender-responsive OSH. 👉 Subscribe for free: etui.org/4o9
In an exclusive interview with EUobserver, Marta Lorenzo, the director of the UNRWA office in Brussels, summarises the situation in Gaza as “a combination of hope and despair”.
UNRWA on Gaza after the ceasefire: ‘A combination of hope and despair’
In an exclusive interview with EUobserver, Marta Lorenzo, the director of the UNRWA office in Brussels, summarises the situation in Gaza as “a combination of hope and despair”.
euobserver.com
Anyone have recommendations for heterodox economic analyses/experts of Europe's pension reform efforts? An article is brewing and I'm looking for diverse voices on the topic.
📢 Fresh investigation reveals €1.5 BILLION in EU funds backing meat & dairy ads with false “sustainable” claims. Taxpayer money shouldn’t bankroll greenwashing and lies🤥 Time for a full review. Investigation ⬇️ @euobserver.com @desmog.com #EU #Greenwashing #Accountability #Disinformation
🔴 NEW 🔴 MEPs Call for Urgent Review of €1.5 Billion EU Food Scheme Pushing ‘Misleading’ Claims 📝 @lauravilladiego.bsky.social 👇 www.desmog.com/2025/11/25/m...
MEPs Call for Urgent Review of €1.5 Billion EU Food Scheme Pushing 'Misleading' Claims
EU taxpayers are funding a multi-year campaign blitz which frequently overstates the environmental benefits of eating meat and dairy while featuring bizarre and misleading claims. Since 2017, the Euro...
desmog.com
Why electrification, not repealing green laws, will save Europe's industry
Why electrification, not repealing green laws, will save Europe's industry
According to Oxford professor of energy Jan Rosenow, rapid electrification of Europe's industry, not rolling back the EU's Green Deal, will save European industry.
euobserver.com
EUROPE: Austerity stops women escaping rising violence, unions warn www.etuc.org/en/pressrele...
etuc.org
Massive strikes in Belgium today against the gov's austerity measures. The three-day strike represents one of the biggest labour actions that Europe has seen in recent memory. Belgium is not alone in its plans to cut public-spending. Yet to be seen how unions elsewhere respond.
euobserver — EU news that matters@euobserver.com · 8mo agoBelgian unions began a three-day general strike on Monday, bringing public transport to a near standstill in a demand for the government to abandon plans to cut pensions, raise the retirement age, and slash unemployment benefits.
Nice piece here by @danielkopp.bsky.social in @jacobinmag.bsky.social on the Belgian labour movement's impressive efforts to block the gov's austerity program. Massive three-day strike starting today organized by the country's unions.
In Belgium, Labor and the Government Face a Showdown
Organized labor has been more effective at defending the welfare state in Belgium than in most European countries. After recent actions resisting austerity plans, a three-day strike this week seeks to...
jacobin.com
My newest for @euobserver.com follows the story of securing rights for food delivery workers after Spain's passing of the landmark Rider Law. While the law was a major step, the process that followed was lengthy and saw years of falsely classified self-employment for these workers.
euobserver — EU news that matters@euobserver.com · 9mo agoEU gig-workers still exploited, despite landmark laws
Weakening EU's due diligence rules a 'betrayal' for workers. While much of the Omnibus discussion focuses on distant impacts, experts and trade union reps described that impacts will be massive for workers across the EU. Read my latest in @euobserver.com.
How weakening due diligence EU rules became a ‘betrayal’ for workers
The proposed rollback of the EU’s corporate accountability rules will significantly weaken their ability to address labour violations within the EU, experts and labour union representatives told EUobs...
euobserver.com
The proposed rollback of the EU’s corporate accountability rules will significantly weaken their ability to address labour violations within the EU, experts and labour union representatives told EUobserver.
How weakening due diligence EU rules became a ‘betrayal’ for workers
The proposed rollback of the EU’s corporate accountability rules will significantly weaken their ability to address labour violations within the EU, experts and labour union representatives told EUobserver.
euobserver.com
Uganda has passed one of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world and is described as a living hell for lgbtq+ people. Meanwhile, the Netherlands strikes a deal with the Ugandan government to send rejected asylum seekers there.
Having grown up in the US and lived in Europe since adulthood, I’m always struck by the fact that Europeans have no idea how bad it can get if the continent’s healthcare systems aren’t defended. I’m even more struck by the failure of left parties to campaign on that fact effectively.
Stanley Pignal@spignal.bsky.social · 11mo agoTell me about Europe's problems again, please.
one of those drop everything and just read it things …. www.netzeropolicylab.com/china-green-...
Mathias Larsen@mathiaslarsen.bsky.social · 11mo agoNew policy report just published with groundbreaking data showing that China's new global role in the green transition is investing in manufacturing, not financing infrastructure: "China’s Green Leap Outward" www.netzeropolicylab.com/china-green-...
This morning, we published a story saying that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen auto-deletes all her text messages on the Signal app, including those with an EU leader, president Emmanuel Macron of France. Here is why this is a massive problem for public accountability. 🧵
A new piece I wrote appearing in FOREIGN AFFAIRS today www.foreignaffairs.com/germany/warn...
Warnings From Weimar
Why bargaining with authoritarians fails.
foreignaffairs.com