Economy
Drug scarcities: Why medicines are still in short supply. A cross-border investigation
Over the past 20 years, Europe has seen a 20-fold increase in drug shortages. Governments, including Romania’s, have used the Ukraine war and the energy crisis to obscure other – mostly structural – causes. This Europe-wide investigation (in which PressOne participated) reveals a range of explanations for Europe’s missing medicines. Medicines crisis: Europe taken by surprise On 15 December 2022, the European Medicines Agency (EMA, the EU body responsible for medicine safety) announced that almost all EU countries are facing shortages of medicines. Experts had expected a harsh winter that would test healthcare systems once again, due to Covid-19
Remote work in Europe before and after the pandemic
While many effects are still unclear, or the result of processes that are still ongoing, the pandemic has had a significant impact on the world of work. Together with six other EDJNet newsrooms, Openpolis looked at the current state of play, focusing on remote work.
The great turnover: record resignations and job vacancies in Europe
Several countries face labour shortages, as terminated contracts peak in Spain, France and Italy, and labour force turnover continues to grow.
Parallel exports and the problem with Greek drug shortage statistics
In Greece, medicine shortages are severely under-reported by the responsible government body. Meanwhile, the illegal export of medicines is an important part of the problem.
Why Europe is running out of meds, again
In the past 20 years drug shortages have surged in Europe. Governments have recently used the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis to cover up the real – far more structural – reasons behind them.
Does work still have meaning?
The climate and Covid crises have led more and more workers - especially younger ones - to question the meaning of their work, resulting in "quiet quitting" and loss of motivation.
Is mass unemployment coming to an end?
The unemployment rate is low in many European countries, thanks, however, to a decrease in productivity that could become a problem in the near future.
Platform workers are becoming more and more commonplace
Delivery, transport, but also business services: more and more workers are opting for self-employed status by using online platforms to obtain assignments. This is a common phenomenon throughout the European Union.
Telework, a new privilege?
The Covid crisis has accelerated the rise of telework in all European countries, in all sectors of activity and all company sizes. This has benefited employees and companies, whose satisfaction and productivity levels have increased. But it also risks creating a digital divide between "teleworkable" jobs and those that are not.
