Calls have been coming from all sides for the EU to intervene in the COVID-19 crisis in the name of European solidarity. Although the Union has little room for manoeuvre in the public-health sphere, it can use the powerful lever of economic and monetary policy to counter the coming economic downturn.

Most of the drugs sold worldwide come from India and China, where production is cheapest. As a result, Europe’s supply of medicines is in the hands of a few companies. 

The COVID-19 outbreak has revived fears over acute drug shortages in Europe, sparking calls to repatriate the production of pharmaceutical ingredients from China. But rebuilding capacity would take years, if it were even possible.

As the European Commission's president Ursula von der Leyen focuses on the combination of environmental and economic measures, one may wonder to what an extent will social issues enter the picture – and whether the European Pillar of Social Rights is still a priority.

Passenger train services are heavily subsidised in Greece, taking advantage of loopholes and delays allowed by EU law. A new memorandum signed by the government keeps state aid and TrainOSE’s monopoly in place, despite the fact that many routes are not operated and citizens are not happy with the service they receive. 

By 2030, as many as 20 million manufacturing jobs will be lost to robots, according to a report published by Oxford Economics, a global forecasting company. Some people have already started to fight back – in the footsteps of the 19th-century Luddites – deliberately sabotaging the robots they work with on a daily basis. They are afraid that these robots will take over their jobs.

Tourism is growing fast worldwide, and faster Europe. In 2018 the sector expanded by more than 6%, and now accounts for 10% of the EU's total GDP. People in the industry are working to make tourism smarter and to relieve well-known destinations where locals are fed up with visitors. We look at the last four years of tourism in numbers.

An overview of the distribution of wealth in Europe. What has changed from the 1980s to today?

Without a high enough carbon price, surplus emissions permits will remain high and the European carbon market will remain broken.