Researcher at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute (EUI)

Interests : Inequality Economy
Countries : Italy France

Robin Huguenot-Noël is a researcher at the Department of Political and
Social Sciences at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence.
His research mainly focuses on the governance of employment and
social policies in the EU.

Trained in economics and political science, he worked between 2014
and 2020 as policy advisor to the UK Treasury, the German co-operation
and development agency (GIZ), and the European Policy Centre (EPC).
He also published several reports for the European Commission, the
Council and the Parliament on the EU budget, cohesion policy, and
welfare reforms in the EU.

His work has featured in various academic journals, including the
Journal of European Public Policy (JEPP), the Journal of European
Social Policy (JESP), Transfer: European Review of Labour and
Research. He is the co-author of the book Resilient Welfare States in
the European Union - In Search of Capacitating Solidarity, written with
Anton Hemerijck, and published with Agenda Publishing in 2022.

Publications
Tightening welfare belts again?

To what extent do EU fiscal rules constrain governments' social and labour market spending? Exploring the critical cases of France and Italy, this policy study gathers evidence from two decades of interactions between national welfare priorities and EU fiscal rules and, through this comparison, sheds light on the mechanisms underlying recent recalibrations and what it means for the Social Pillar implementation.

Read the policy study

Political Mentor: Jonás Fernández, MEP S&D
Academic Mentor: Carlo d'Ippoliti, Associate professor of political economy at the Department of Statistical Sciences of Sapienza University of Rome.

Members

Researcher at the Astrid Foundation, and an Associate Research Assistant in the Economic Policy and Jobs & Skills Unit at CEPS.

Interests : Economy
Countries : Italy

PhD student at Sciences Po Paris

Interests : Economy Social Europe Inequality
Countries : France Poland

Affiliated Postdoctoral Researcher in the Horizon projects ActEU and PUSH*BACK*LASH

Interests : Gender Equality Economy
Countries : Italy

Researcher at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute (EUI)

Interests : Inequality Economy
Countries : Italy France

Research and teaching associate at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria. 

Interests : Economy Social Europe Inequality
Countries : Austria
Publications
14/05/2024

Tightening welfare belts again?

FEPS YAN Series
13/11/2023

EU Treaties - Why they need targeted changes

An approach based on European public goods, citizenship and democracy
01/09/2023

Bidding farewell to workfare?

Recovery Watch series
13/06/2022

A new EU strategy for rural areas

Just Transition & Revitalisation
27/05/2021

Our European Future

FEPS contribution to the Conference on the Future of Europe
31/01/2020

Social Investment Now! Advancing Social EU through the EU Budget

Doctoral Researcher in Urban Planning, Design, and Policy at the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies of the Polytechnic University of Milano

Interests : Economy
Countries : Italy

Alberto Bortolotti is a doctoral researcher in Urban Planning, Design, and Policy at the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies of the Polytechnic University of Milano. His research focuses on the interactions between spatial planning and real estate finance with implications in urban development, cohesion policy, and housing studies. He has been a visiting scholar at the Public Governance Institute of KU Leuven and the Department of Human Geography, Planning, and International Development of the University of Amsterdam. Before joining the academic environment, he worked as a junior architect, planner, policy advisor, and researcher, for both public and private institutions such as the Italian Ministry of Culture, the European Parliament, and the Feltrinelli Foundation. He is a social-democratic activist and Vice-President of the Young European Socialists (YES).

Publications
Inequality and populism

In recent years, European citizens have witnessed a rise in inequality, especially socio-economic, alongside an increase in vote share for radical right populist parties. By examining case studies from Italy, Hungary, and Spain (with the comparative case of Germany), this policy study argues that the rise of populism is not only linked to economic trends but also to other constitutional changes and institutional settings characterising European countries with a focus on economic inequality as the explanatory variable for political participation.

Read the Policy Study

Political Mentor: Gaby Bischoff, MEP S&D
Academic Mentor: Eunice Goes, Professor of Politics at Richmond American University of London

Members

Doctoral Researcher in Urban Planning, Design, and Policy at the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies of the Polytechnic University of Milano

Interests : Economy
Countries : Italy

Doctoral researcher in Economics at the Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE)

Interests : Democracy Social Europe Inequality
Countries : Germany

Research assistant at the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb

Interests : Climate Democracy Inequality
Countries : Croatia

Joint PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh and KU Leuven

Interests : Democracy Foreign Affairs Inequality
Countries : Belgium Spain United Kingdom
Publications
15/05/2024

Inequality and populism

FEPS YAN Series

Affiliated Postdoctoral Researcher in the Horizon projects ActEU and PUSH*BACK*LASH

Interests : Gender Equality Economy
Countries : Italy

Matilde Ceron completed her PhD in Political Studies at the University of Milan (NASP). Her dissertation investigated the multilevel interplay between the EU fiscal framework and domestic political, institutional and economic factors in shaping the composition of public expenditures in the Member States. Matilde holds an MSc in Economics and Social Sciences from Bocconi University and an MA in Public Policy Analysis from the College of Europe. Her research interest clusters at the intersection of EU economic governance, fiscal policies, gender equality and representation. 

She was a postdoctoral fellow in political economy at the University of Pavia, working on the digital inclusion of persons with disabilities. During her postdoctoral fellowship at Luiss University, her research focused on the policy-making and legitimacy implications of EU executive leadership selection, co-editing a forthcoming book “The Politicisation of the European Commission’s Presidency Spitzenkandidaten and Beyond”. As a Max Weber Fellow at the Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies of the European University Institute, she extended her research on national and EU emergency and recovery responses to the pandemic addressing the changes in fiscal policies and governance frameworks after Covid-19. In parallel, she expanded her work to a gendered analysis of EU economic governance with a focus on pandemic recovery policies. Her current project focuses on substantive representation and gender mainstreaming in the National Recovery and Resilience Plans. She is an affiliated postdoctoral researcher in the Horizon projects  Activating European citizens’ trust in times of crises and polarization (ActEU) and anti-gender backlash & democratic pushback (PUSH*BACK*LASH), where she will continue to work on gender equality policies, Covid-19, representation and legitimacy.

Publications
Tightening welfare belts again?

To what extent do EU fiscal rules constrain governments' social and labour market spending? Exploring the critical cases of France and Italy, this policy study gathers evidence from two decades of interactions between national welfare priorities and EU fiscal rules and, through this comparison, sheds light on the mechanisms underlying recent recalibrations and what it means for the Social Pillar implementation.

Read the policy study

Political Mentor: Jonás Fernández, MEP S&D
Academic Mentor: Carlo d'Ippoliti, Associate professor of political economy at the Department of Statistical Sciences of Sapienza University of Rome.

Members

Researcher at the Astrid Foundation, and an Associate Research Assistant in the Economic Policy and Jobs & Skills Unit at CEPS.

Interests : Economy
Countries : Italy

PhD student at Sciences Po Paris

Interests : Economy Social Europe Inequality
Countries : France Poland

Affiliated Postdoctoral Researcher in the Horizon projects ActEU and PUSH*BACK*LASH

Interests : Gender Equality Economy
Countries : Italy

Researcher at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute (EUI)

Interests : Inequality Economy
Countries : Italy France

Research and teaching associate at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria. 

Interests : Economy Social Europe Inequality
Countries : Austria
Publications
14/05/2024

Tightening welfare belts again?

FEPS YAN Series

Researcher at the Astrid Foundation, and an Associate Research Assistant in the Economic Policy and Jobs & Skills Unit at CEPS.

Interests : Economy
Countries : Italy

Alessandro Liscai is a Researcher at Astrid Foundation, an Associate Research Assistant in the Economic Policy and Jobs & Skills Unit at CEPS and a member of the FEPS Young Academic Network. With an economic background, Alessandro focused his research on the evolution of the European economic governance, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and the EU budget. His research interests encompass, as well, social policies, the impact of digital technologies on the labour market and on the health sector, and the EU industrial policy (with a particular focus on some strategic EU initiatives, related to critical raw materials and space economy). He researched these fields with quantitative/econometric and qualitative approaches, publishing several contributions and reports committed by EU institutions. Alessandro holds a Bachelor’s in Economics and Management at Luiss University, a Master of Science in Economics at Nova School of Business and Economics and a Master of Arts in European Economic Governance at Luiss School of European Political Economy.

Publications
Tightening welfare belts again?

To what extent do EU fiscal rules constrain governments' social and labour market spending? Exploring the critical cases of France and Italy, this policy study gathers evidence from two decades of interactions between national welfare priorities and EU fiscal rules and, through this comparison, sheds light on the mechanisms underlying recent recalibrations and what it means for the Social Pillar implementation.

Read the policy study

Political Mentor: Jonás Fernández, MEP S&D
Academic Mentor: Carlo d'Ippoliti, Associate professor of political economy at the Department of Statistical Sciences of Sapienza University of Rome.

Members

Researcher at the Astrid Foundation, and an Associate Research Assistant in the Economic Policy and Jobs & Skills Unit at CEPS.

Interests : Economy
Countries : Italy

PhD student at Sciences Po Paris

Interests : Economy Social Europe Inequality
Countries : France Poland

Affiliated Postdoctoral Researcher in the Horizon projects ActEU and PUSH*BACK*LASH

Interests : Gender Equality Economy
Countries : Italy

Researcher at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute (EUI)

Interests : Inequality Economy
Countries : Italy France

Research and teaching associate at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria. 

Interests : Economy Social Europe Inequality
Countries : Austria
Publications
14/05/2024

Tightening welfare belts again?

FEPS YAN Series

Michele Fiorillo
Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa
Political Philosophy and Democratic Theory

Interests : Foreign Affairs Democracy
Countries : Italy

Michele Fiorillo is a political philosopher and activist.
Born in Verona, after studies at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa and at the College of Europe in Warsaw, his researches focus on theories and practices of deliberative democracy.
He is co-initiator of CIVICO Europa (www.civico.eu) - an organisation for transnational participatory democracy- and of Citizens Take Over Europe (citizenstakeover.eu), a coalition of over 50 NGOs.
Currently is coordinating the project for the building up of a European Citizens' Assembly.

Citizens’ Europe – An institutional turn for an ever-democratic union?

Publications
Future of Europe

The paper outlines a vision of the ongoing Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) from various perspectives and sets out proposals regarding how it should develop in order to contribute to making the EU more democratic. First, the paper discusses further steps the Conference should take towards bridging the gap between EU and national politics.

Second, the paper analyses previous initiatives of treaty reforms which may be incorporated into the Conference on the Future of Europe. Third, the paper lays out the visions of Europe in a half-century’s time among EU Commission officials. Last, the paper discusses citizens’ involvement in shaping EU future through a broader process of European deliberative democracy, and how the CoFoE could advance such a perspective.

Read the paper:
Citizens’ Europe - An institutional turn for an ever-democratic union?

Political Mentor: S&D MEP Domènec Ruiz Devesa
Academic Mentor: Michael Holms, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Liverpool Hope University

https://www.youtube.com/embed/yHIayD_W1-s
Members

History and Policies of the European Union

Interests : Democracy
Countries : Italy
Publications
28/03/2022

Citizens’ Europe - An institutional turn for an ever-democratic union?

FEPS YAN
28/06/2019

European Economic Democracy A new path out of the crisis

13/06/2019

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections: Race for Power: Major Campaign Issues

11/06/2019

The New Indian Government

16/04/2019

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections II

16/04/2019

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections I

05/04/2019

India and South Asia Dossier: March 2019

28/02/2019

India and South Asia Dossier: February 2019

04/02/2019

India and South Asia Dossier: December 2018 - January 2019

03/12/2018

India and South Asia: November 2018 Dossier

22/11/2018

India and South Asia Dossier: October 2018

05/10/2018

India and South Asia: September 2018 Dossier

05/09/2018

India and South Asia: July-August 2018 Dossier

03/05/2018

INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA: APRIL 2018 DOSSIER

15/03/2018

India and South Asia: February 2018 Dossier

16/01/2018

India and South Asia: December 2017 Dossier

06/12/2017

India and South Asia: November 2017 Dossier

17/11/2017

India and South Asia: October 2017 Dossier

24/10/2017

India and South Asia: September 2017 Dossier

09/10/2014

South Asia: July dossier

Research Support Officer at Eurofound

Interests : Social Europe Economy
Countries : Italy Germany

Chiara was always driven by curiosity and interest in research, during her education in Rome, Paris, Frankfurt and Melbourne. Chiara obtained in 2016 a Bachelor in Economics and Business and, in 2019, a Master’s degree in Economics and Finance, together with a second international excellence master called QTEM (Quantitative Techniques for Economics and Management), with a final dissertation about the impact of flexicurity on Managerial practices. Workwise, she has been intern in various institutions, was an analyst at the ECB and it is currently working as a Research Support Officer at Eurofound, the agency of the European Union for improving working and living conditions.

History and Policies of the European Union

Interests : Democracy
Countries : Italy

Fabio Di Nunno is currently teaching assistant in History and Policies of the European Union, at the University of International Studies of Rome (UNINT), journalist at Città Nuova and contributor to the “Annali” of the Italian Institute for Historical Studies. He holds a PhD in History of International Relations at “Sapienza” University of Rome, after a master in European Political and Administrative Studies at College of Europe of Bruges and a degree in International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”.

Citizens’ Europe – An institutional turn for an ever-democratic union?

Publications
EU regulation on transparency and targeting of political advertising?

This policy study delves into the evolution of the regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transparency and targeting of political advertising, exploring upcoming key changes and their connection to broader discussions on populism, democratic values, and access to quality information. Additionally, it provides guidelines for progressive parties on leveraging this legislation to initiate comprehensive strategies to combat extremist populism and antidemocratic movements within the EU.

Read the policy study

Political Mentor: Alex Agius Saliba, MEP S&D
Academic Mentor: Kuba Jablonowski, Lecturer in Digital Sociology

Members

History and Policies of the European Union

Interests : Democracy
Countries : Italy

Adjunct professor at the Universidad Carlos
III de Madrid.

Interests : Economy Digital
Countries : Spain

PhD candidate in Law at the Transitional Justice Institute, School of Law of Ulster University

Interests : Digital Inequality
Countries : Ireland

Expert in data analysis for public management and political analysis

Interests : Digital
Countries : Spain
Tightening welfare belts again?

To what extent do EU fiscal rules constrain governments' social and labour market spending? Exploring the critical cases of France and Italy, this policy study gathers evidence from two decades of interactions between national welfare priorities and EU fiscal rules and, through this comparison, sheds light on the mechanisms underlying recent recalibrations and what it means for the Social Pillar implementation.

Read the policy study

Political Mentor: Jonás Fernández, MEP S&D
Academic Mentor: Carlo d'Ippoliti, Associate professor of political economy at the Department of Statistical Sciences of Sapienza University of Rome.

Members

Researcher at the Astrid Foundation, and an Associate Research Assistant in the Economic Policy and Jobs & Skills Unit at CEPS.

Interests : Economy
Countries : Italy

PhD student at Sciences Po Paris

Interests : Economy Social Europe Inequality
Countries : France Poland

Affiliated Postdoctoral Researcher in the Horizon projects ActEU and PUSH*BACK*LASH

Interests : Gender Equality Economy
Countries : Italy

Researcher at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute (EUI)

Interests : Inequality Economy
Countries : Italy France

Research and teaching associate at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria. 

Interests : Economy Social Europe Inequality
Countries : Austria
Future of Europe

The paper outlines a vision of the ongoing Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) from various perspectives and sets out proposals regarding how it should develop in order to contribute to making the EU more democratic. First, the paper discusses further steps the Conference should take towards bridging the gap between EU and national politics.

Second, the paper analyses previous initiatives of treaty reforms which may be incorporated into the Conference on the Future of Europe. Third, the paper lays out the visions of Europe in a half-century’s time among EU Commission officials. Last, the paper discusses citizens’ involvement in shaping EU future through a broader process of European deliberative democracy, and how the CoFoE could advance such a perspective.

Read the paper:
Citizens’ Europe - An institutional turn for an ever-democratic union?

Political Mentor: S&D MEP Domènec Ruiz Devesa
Academic Mentor: Michael Holms, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Liverpool Hope University

https://www.youtube.com/embed/yHIayD_W1-s
Members

History and Policies of the European Union

Interests : Democracy
Countries : Italy
Publications
16/05/2024

EU regulation on transparency and targeting of political advertising

FEPS YAN Series
28/03/2022

Citizens’ Europe - An institutional turn for an ever-democratic union?

FEPS YAN
02/12/2019

Multilayer democratic reforms as a response to European crisis

PhD candidate University of Glasgow

Interests : Digital Social Europe
Countries : United Kingdom Italy

Wilko is a PhD candidate in Employment Relations at the University of Glasgow and work as Graduate Teaching Assistant within the Adam Smith Business School. His research focuses on job quality and worker representation in the context of “Industry 4.0”, with a particular focus on the role of ICTs to potentially exacerbate already existing inequalities among workers. Before commencing his doctoral studies, Wilko served as research trainee at the International Labour Organization, where he worked on “Future of Work” and “Social Dialogue” related projects. Wilko holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and a master’s degree in Work, market, environment, social policies and social work, both earned from the University of Bologna. During his postgraduate studies, Wilko spent one year at the University of Tartu (Erasmus Programme) and three months in Brussels to carry out research for his final dissertation at the European Trade Union Confederation.

Trade Unions and the multiple crisis of environment, society, economy and work

Publications
Trade Unions

This policy study focuses on trade union approaches to the multiple crises in a sector critical for the sustainability transformation: aviation. Based on empirical research, the authors find that unions, under pressure to face contradictory and complex problems, take divergent positions on societal-environmental issues and their solutions - verging from social-ecological transformation-focused to defensive stances, also in their collaboration with social movements for change.

Read the paper:
Trade Unions and the multiple crisis of environment, society, economy and work

Political Mentor: EP Vice President and S&D MEP Evelyn Regner
Academic Mentor: David Bailey, Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and International Studies, School of Government, University of Birmingham

Members