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This in-depth analysis examines whether VET learners, graduates and professionals face systemic disadvantages relative to their higher education counterparts across four domains: labour market outcomes, public support and mobility, qualification pathways and recognition, and access to services and economic sectors. Drawing on evidence from EU Member States, it identifies structural disparities that reduce VET attractiveness, documents significant cross-country variation, and puts forward eight policy ...

Digitalisation has powered the shift to a ‘services economy’, and has greatly expanded the cross-border delivery of services, enabling service providers to access markets around the world with little or no local physical presence. Services can now also be produced digitally and supplied automatically, which will expand further with artificial intelligence (AI). Automated digital services (ADSs) can be supplied from the cloud, so that there is no specific location for the place of supply.

Free movement of workers is a cornerstone of the European single market, yet qualifications and skills do not always travel freely with the worker. Despite a binding EU instrument in place since 2005, recognition procedures remain complex, lengthy and unevenly applied across Member States. With labour shortages affecting key sectors and around 10 million EU citizens working abroad, there is a need for further EU action. The European Commission's skills portability initiative, expected in the third ...

The EU aviation sector generates around €830 billion to €851 billion annually (about 4.4-5 % of EU GDP) and supports 1.8 million jobs directly and 14 million jobs indirectly. The workforce includes aircrew, ground handling staff, air traffic management personnel, controllers, maintenance workers, and freight staff, with aircrew forming the largest group. Key challenges include atypical employment forms such as subcontracting, agency work, and temporary arrangements, as well as irregular schedules ...

The International Labour Organization (ILO) introduced the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002. The day is observed annually on 12 June. The 2026 World Day focuses on reinforcing and accelerating actions aimed at preventing and eliminating child labour, with a key message: 'Red Card to Child Labour: Fair play for children, decent work for adults'. This is a further update of an 'At a glance' note, the previous edition of which was by Yanis Stefanou, in 2025.

This IA accompanies the European Commission proposal on the 28th regime corporate legal framework – 'EU Inc'. This initiative aims to create a 28th company law regime, 'EU Inc', to operate more easily in the single market by addressing fragmentation in national corporate rules and providing better conditions for starting, growing and scaling up a business. The initiative is part of the 2026 Commission work programme. The IA identifies three problems and addresses them horizontally. The problems mainly ...

This study examines the historical evolution of the Erasmus+ programme and assesses the legislative proposal currently discussed for the 2028–2034 programme period. It identifies structural challenges related to linking broader ambitions to budgetary realities; balancing flexibility with governance and oversight in Erasmus+; the adequacy of support; inclusion and unequal access; and administrative complexity. The study also evaluates whether the proposed changes correspond to the problems identified ...

Women remain under-represented in EU agriculture, particularly as farm managers, while much of their contribution as spouses and unpaid family workers remains invisible and unrecognised. Around one third of EU farms are managed by women, but structural barriers persist in land ownership, inheritance, access to resources, and policymaking. Patrilineal land transfer patterns continue to limit women's access to farmland, EU common agricultural policy (CAP) subsidies, and decision-making roles. Existing ...

Erasmus for All is a pilot initiative implemented by the European University Foundation in cooperation with participating higher education institutions and funded under the Erasmus+ programme. The initiative explored whether city-based top-ups to Erasmus+ student mobility grants could improve affordability in high-cost destinations. The pilot’s outcomes indicate that additional support can reduce perceived financial pressure during mobility in higher-cost cities. However, it does not address the ...