Public goods reflect a complex construct between the principle of solidarity and the principle of subsidiarity in European Union law. This policy brief concisely contextualises public goods in European law and shows that they can...

In our previous report, The Optimism Gap, we found that a substantial share of the EU’s population thinks that their own country is not doing well, despite still being hopeful about their own lives. We called this the “optimism...

Ireland has set an example for democratic innovation. The Irish Citizens’ Assembly shows that democracy can be reinvigorated if citizens get a greater say.

“Trust in social and political institutions” is one of nine dimensions underlying the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s empirical measure of social cohesion. Although the studies we have conducted in recent years have shown that social...

Since 2013, the Bertelsmann Stiftung has in numerous studies repeatedly examined the state of social cohesion, while seeking to determine which factors influence it. These efforts have included studies with a cross-national...

The topic of social cohesion has gained significantly in importance in recent years, while attracting increasing attention. Over the long term, the megatrends of globalization, digital transformation and demographic change are...

The third of October 2020 marked the 30th anniversary of German reunification. The debate over whether, and if so at what pace, a Germany that “belongs together is growing together” is just as old. Differences between the federal...

From January 2021, the electronic patient health record (EHR) will enable citizens in Germany to have their health data and documents stored in a central location. However, the law does not provide for the digital transfer of the...

Amid a severe health, social and economic crisis, banks again take centre stage on the political agenda. This policy paper explains why decisionmakers are worried about a looming banking crisis, sets out the existing European bank...

When restarting work on reforming the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the Eurogroup should heed the lessons of the pandemic: The ESM has become politically unviable while there is apparently a lot more flexibility within the...