Integrating the EU Twin (Green and Digital) Transition? Synergies, Tensions and Pathways for the Future of Work

Antonio Aloisi

No 2025-01, JRC Working Papers on Labour, Education and Technology from Joint Research Centre

Abstract: The green and digital transitions are increasingly described as the ‘twin transition’ in EU policy documents, social partners’ strategic plans and academic debates. However, the exact meaning of this term remains ambiguous, and the interconnections between these transitions are largely unexplored. This paper aims to clarify the motivations and pitfalls behind their ‘twinning’ and assess where and how their convergence might be successful. It considers the socioeconomic risks, policy trade-offs and implications for the future of work. The analysis covers major EU employment and social policy developments concerning workers’ environmental and digital rights, as enshrined in legislation that presents a ‘mix’ between two distinct legal areas. A key finding is that the transitions are often treated as separate rather than integrated phenomena, with limited direct spillovers. However, despite shifts in institutional agendas and inconsistencies in understanding, the underlying priorities remain deeply entrenched. This paper identifies regulatory gaps and rigidities that maintain outdated, inflexible and hierarchical organisational paradigms, which are ill-suited to the demands of the twin transitions. It also calls for regenerating labour regulation to foster positive interactions and modernisation of work practices. The proposed normative changes should promote worker-oriented flexibility, universal labour protection and worker participation in technological and green initiatives, paving the way for more sustainable working arrangements.

Date: 2025-01
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