As platform companies grow in terms of both market and influence, the platformisation of the economy is expanding beyond the usual sectors. The transposition of the Platform Work Directive occurs in the context of a new labor market reality. Understanding of it requires continuous and in-depth research and new data.

Education is a solution for directly affected workers, as well as a way to raise awareness in society and increase the knowledge and expertise of labor market institutions.

Support and recognition of good initiatives is necessary to encourage the engagement of social partners, especially trade unions and self-organised workers, for efficient representation of platform workers.

These are some of the main conclusions of the international conference “Platform Revolution: Shaping the Future of Work in the EU and Western Balkans,” held on 22–23 October 2025 in Brussels, in which CELSI researcher Tibor Meszmann also took part.

The two-day event — organised by the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, in cooperation with the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) — brought together policymakers, researchers, and civil society representatives to discuss how to ensure fair, sustainable, and inclusive platform work across Europe and the Western Balkans.

Opening remarks were delivered by Martin Vokálek, Executive Director of EUROPEUM, and László Andor, Secretary General of FEPS.

The conference explored three key themes:

🌍 Mapping realities — understanding the landscape of platform work in the Western Balkans and V4 countries

⚖️ Barriers to regulation — examining legal, social, and political challenges to implementing the EU Platform Work Directive

🤝 Policy pathways — identifying strategies for sustainable and inclusive platform work

Representing CELSI, Tibor Meszmann contributed to two panel discussions:

• “Mapping Platform Work: Similar Drivers, Different Outcomes?” — highlighting comparative insights into the development of platform work across the Western Balkans and V4 countries.
• “Barriers to Regulation: A Case Study on the Platform Work Directive” — analysing key obstacles to effective regulation, including worker classification and the presumption of employment.

The conference forms part of the Platform Revolution project, which investigates the realities of platform work in eight European countries and provides policy recommendations to improve the regulation of platform labour.

👉 Learn more about the project and explore the evaluation papers — including those on Hungary (by Tibor Meszmann), Slovakia (by Timotej Kováčik), and Czechia (by Silke Maes) — addressing challenges and opportunities in implementing the EU Platform Work Directive here:

🔗 https://www.europeum.org/en/platformrevolution

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