Planned obsolescence is associated with a form of industrial production that relies on a minimum renewal rate for its products. Although product renewal is necessary, certain abuses need to be addressed.The EESC would like to see a total ban on products with built-in defects designed to end the...

Italy's problems are primarily structural; the current government is thus exploring more radical reform programmes, such as labour market reform and liberalisation. Compliance with the measures introduced towards achieving a balanced budget and reducing the public debt is a prerequisite to...

For the European institutions, the "Great Recession" officially began in March 2008, when the word "crisis" first appeared in the Conclusions of the European Council (European Council, March 2008). In the four years since then, the European response to that crisis has not always been the same; an...