When COVID-19 struck Europe, it not only brought hospitals to the verge of collapse but created havoc in its wake on many different fronts: European GDP slumped, industrial production plummeted and thousands lost their jobs. The future does not look rosy either. In episode 8 "When the world of work comes tumbling down", we look at what the EU could do on the employment front, where it has only limited powers. We spoke to Professor Caroline de la Porte from the Copenhagen Business School who gave us a brief overview of the employment guidelines, a tool that enables the EU to help coordinate the Member States' employment policies. EESC member Ellen Nygren told us about the EESC proposal on how the employment guidelines should be revised in the face of the COVID-19 crisis so to make sure that the Member States, among other things, help self-employed Europeans – such as Portuguese musician Tiago Rodrigues, who shared with us his story of how he and his 5EX Band became jobless overnight.

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