The free movement of workers is one of the greatest achievements of European integration, explains Prof. Ulrich Becker in "Dossier Politik" of the broadcast station Bayern2. However, this should not call into question the social and economic order in the Member States. In order to guarantee better protection for all EU citizens in the event of unemployment, Becker suggests the introduction of a European unemployment insurance system.

Anastasia Poulou, researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, was honoured by the German-Greek association of lawyers (DGJV) for her dissertation. The award is assigned to academic papers, which are especially beneficial for German-Greek legal relationships. In her thesis titled "Der Schutz sozialer Grundrechte in Zeiten der Krise. Zur Rekonzeptualisierung der sozialen Dimension Europas", Poulou analyses whether the austerity measures, which were implemented during the euro crisis in Greece and Portugal, amongst others, violate individual as well as social basic rights. She also investigates who should be held accountable: the Union institutions, who imposed the measures, or the countries in crisis themselves. Profile