In recent years, there has been a discernible shift in the discourse on industrial relations in Europe. Contentious collective bargaining in response to surging inflation, tighter labour markets leading to a stronger bargaining position for workers, renewed strike activity in many countries and organising drives in the low-wage service sector have been noticeable developments. These changes contrast with the preceding decades marked by the erosion of sectoral collective bargaining and associated institutions.

The Urban Development and Mobility department (LISER) and the Cosmopolis Centre for Urban Research (VUB) have organised a one-day symposium titled "To pay or not to pay – The role of fares in public transport" on the 20th of March 2025 at the Black Box (Maison des Sciences). The symposium marks the end of the LiFT project, a bilateral project funded by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) and the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). The LiFT project focused on the policy of abolishing fares in public transport, otherwise known as fare-free public transport (FFPT).

The Discussion Paper on an AI-related topic published in 2024 by Christina Gathmann (LISER and IZA), Felix Grimm (LISER), and Erwin Winkler (University of Erlangen-Nürnberg and IZA) has been selected for the 2025 IZA Award for Innovative Research on a Pressing Public Issue (IRPPI).