European Foundation
for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions
The tripartite EU agency providing knowledge to assist
in the development of better social, employment and
work-related policies
European Foundation
for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions
The tripartite EU agency providing knowledge to assist
in the development of better social, employment and
work-related policies
Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Starting in April 2022, the EU PolicyWatch database update focuses predominantly on policies to cushion the impacts of the war in Ukraine. This includes on the one hand policies to support refugees from Ukraine and to implement their rights to accommodation, access to social protection, education, health care and the labour market. On the other hand, it maps policies related to cushioning the impacts of the war for EU citizens, workers and companies. This includes predominantly responses to rising inflation, but also support measures for companies and sectors affected by disruptions of supply chains.
The EU PolicyWatch database currently contains 163 measures which support refugees from Ukraine in the following subcategories:
Information package on education in Ukrainian
On 7 April 2022, the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture published information in Ukrainian on education and early childhood education. The information package is available in Finnish and Ukrain...
Finland | 01 March 2023
Integration of Ukrainian refugees in the HELIOS support program
After the war in Ukraine a large number of Ukrainian nationals moved to other countries. Ukrainian nationals who have sought refugee status in Greece since 24 February 2022 are entitled to temporary p...
Greece | 28 February 2023
Job fair for Ukrainian refugees
Local organisations (at municipal level) organised a job fair specifically targeted at Ukrainian refugees to support them in finding employment on the Belgian labour market. The initiative was launch...
Belgium | 21 February 2023
The disruptions to supply chains caused by the pandemic as well as the war in Ukraine led to an increase in energy prices, with knock-on effects to other products. Many governments in the EU have introduced policies to cushion the effects of rising prices for workers or citizens. The EU PolicyWatch currently contains 0 cases that seek to cushion the impact of inflation. The most common target groups of these measures are:
Note: As one policy measure can have multiple target groups, the figures in the graph can add up to more than the mentioned 0 measures in this category.
EU Member States and Norway also implemented new policies or expanded existing measures to support companies which are strongly affected by the impacts of the war in Ukraine. The database currently contains 44 cases, with the latest being the following:
Subsidy for small village shops
Under government resolution 1539/2022 published in November 2022 under the Modern Villages Programme, from 12 January 2023, village shops can apply for support for their operating costs, the governmen...
Hungary | 20 February 2023
Extraordinary grant for fur companies
Russia's war against Ukraine, the sanctions imposed by the EU and its international partners and the countermeasures taken, have created significant economic uncertainties, disrupted trade flows and a...
Greece | 20 February 2023
New loan scheme to help businesses impacted by war in Ukraine and rising energy costs
Against the background of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the severe rise in energy costs, the Government announced a new scheme to assist SMEs impacted by these events and suffering liquidity difficul...
Ireland | 18 February 2023
The war in Ukraine has unleashed a humanitarian emergency in Europe. Millions of refugees from Ukraine – mainly women and children – have fled to other countries to seek shelter and safety. Through the Temporary Protection Ddirective (2001/55/EC) the EU provides for a number of rights for refugees without having to go through lengthy procedures for the application for asylum. Various actors in Member States – governments, NGOs, the social partners – have started to respond to this large influx, by issuing new initiatives and policies.
Another impact of the war relates to the disruption of supply chains, compounding the strain caused by the pandemic. As a result, businesses, citizens and workers in the EU are faced with soaring energy prices and increasing food prices. Together with pressures on (already strained) housing markets, this creates a substantial threat to people's purchasing power and standard of living, but also to companies' viability.
The database will, therefore, seek during 2022 to map policies (including collective agreements, company cases or other initiatives) aimed at addressing and cushioning the impacts of this new crisis on EU companies, workers and citizens.
30 January 2023
Governments across the EU continue to implement policies to support citizens and businesses in the face of rising food and energy prices caused by the COVID-19 crisis and intensified by the war in Ukraine. This article summarises the policy responses as reported in Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch database from January to September 2022.
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12 September 2022
Although the worldwide pandemic situation had already disrupted supply chains and triggered increases in energy and food prices in 2021, the situation deteriorated in 2022 with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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12 September 2022
This article summarises the first policy responses that governments across the EU have started to implement to support companies affected by the rising prices, and those with commercial ties to Ukraine, Russia or Belarus.
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5 July 2022
This article summarises the first policy responses of EU Member States, including those of the social partners and other civil society actors, enabling refugees to exercise their rights under the Temporary Protection Directive.
ArticleDisclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process.