Upcoming Event: The Future of Social Protection in Europe: Welfare state risks and policy responses for Europe and Greece

[Hellenicobservatory]

Dear colleagues,

 

Upcoming event from the LSE’s Hellenic Observatory – Centre for Research on Contemporary Greece and Cyprus:

 

The Future of Social Protection in Europe:  Welfare state risks and policy responses for Europe and Greece

 

Thursday 05 February 2026 6.30pm to 8.00pm, Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, LSE

 

Europe’s welfare states are confronting a convergence of unprecedented challenges. Demographic shifts, population ageing, and the rise of non-standard forms of work intersect with automation and AI to reshape labour markets and the future of work. At the same time, geopolitical changes—including rising protectionism and concerns over resource sufficiency—pose new pressures on the fiscal capacities and strategic priorities of nation-states. These developments raise fundamental questions about the resilience of Europe’s welfare state architecture and the future of social protection across the continent.

 

This panel brings together leading experts to debate these emerging risks and the policy responses needed to ensure that Europe’s social safety nets remain resilient and inclusive amid economic uncertainty and growing inequality. A particular emphasis will be placed on Greece, where these challenges unfold within a context of an under-developed and fragmented social protection system, and where the legacies of austerity intersect with new pressures from digitalisation, climate risks, and shifting labour markets.

How can European welfare states adapt to safeguard social rights in the decades ahead? What role should EU-level coordination play in strengthening national systems? Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on the reforms and opportunities that will shape the future social contract in Europe—and in Greece.

 

Panellists

 

Ms Anna Diamantopoulou is President of DIKTIO – Network for Reform in Greece and Europe, former Chair of the European Commission’s High-Level Group on the Future of Social Protection and the Welfare State in the EU; and former European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (1999–2004). Ms. Diamantopoulou is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Brussels-based think tank Friends of Europe, a Council Member of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), a member of the Scientific Council of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) and a member of the Advisory Board of the Delphi Economic Forum.

 

Professor Sir Julian Le Grand is a member of the Marshall Institute at the London School of Economics. From 2003 to 2005 he was seconded to No 10 Downing St to serve as Senior Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister.  He has also worked as an adviser to the European Commission, the World Bank and the OECD.  He was awarded a knighthood in 2015 for services to social sciences and public service.  He is an economist by training, and the author, co-author or editor of over twenty books, and more than one hundred articles and book chapters on economics, philosophy and public policy.  He currently researches and teaches on philanthropy and social entrepreneurship.

 

Professor Panos Tsakloglou, of the Department of International and European Economic Studies at the Athens University of Economics and Business, is a Research Fellow of the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA, Bonn) and a Senior Research Fellow of the Hellenic Observatory (LSE, London). His research focuses on Economics of Social Policy (inequality, poverty, social exclusion, redistributive role of the state) Labour, Education and Health Economics (determinants of unemployment, returns to education, determinants of private health spending). Currently, he is a member of the Monetary Policy Council, Bank of Greece. Previously, he served as Deputy Minister of Labour in charge of Social Insurance (August 2020 – March 2025),  Chairman of the Greek Government’s Council of Economic Advisers (2012-2014), a member of the EU Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) and Eurogroup Working Group (EWG) and alternate member of Ecofin and Eurogroup.  He served as a Social Policy advisor to Prime Ministers George Papandreou (2010-2011) and to Loukas Papademos (2011-2012).  He was a member of the EU Economic Policy Committee (EPC, 2010-2011).

 

Chair: Professor Vassilis Monastiriotis, Director, LSE Centre for Research on Contemporary Greece and Cyprus - Hellenic Observatory; Professor in Political Economy and Eleftherios Venizelos Chair of Contemporary Greek Studies, European Institute, LSE

 

Find out more: https://www.lse.ac.uk/Hellenic-Observatory/Events/events-pages/2025-26/Social-Protection/Social-Protection

 

Register for the event: https://events.lse.ac.uk/58JYzR6/4a8KTv5dS9

 

Kind regards,

 

Will Richards

Hellenic Observatory Administrator and Communications Officer

London School of Economics and Political Science