European Social Policy articles from April 2006

European Social Policy archives from April 2006

AGENDA.
April 21, 2006... 4-5 May - UK - A peer review in the context of the European strategy on combating exclusion. 4 May - Brussels - 'A coordinated approach to driving jobs and growth in Europe'. The conference is sponsored by Microsoft and the European...

CROATIA/TURKEY : ACCESSION TALKS RUN INTO EARLY POLITICAL DIFFICULTIES.
April 21, 2006... Moves to open Croatia's and Turkey's EU membership negotiations on education and culture are being held up by French-led calls to put greater emphasis on the broader political entry criteria. The European Commission said on February 14 the...

INTERNET : ALMOST ONE QUARTER OF EU HOUSEHOLDS HAVE BROADBAND.
April 21, 2006... Data from the first quarter of 2005, show that 48% of households in the EU25 had access to the Internet and 23% had a broadband connection. At the beginning of 2005, 91% of all businesses in the EU had Internet access, and 63% had a broadband...

WORKING CONDITIONS : AN EMPLOYER CANNOT REPLACE ANNUAL LEAVE WITH AN ALLOWANCE.
April 21, 2006... In case any of the member states had failed to fully understand, the European Court of Justice has driven home the point once more. In a preliminary ruling on paid leave delivered on 6 April (1)), it concludes that EU law precludes the...

ARRIVEDERCI SILVIO, BUONGIORNO EUROPA.(Silvio Berlusconi appointed at European Commission)(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... In addition to being a personal triumph and one for his left-wing coalition,aRomano Prodi's victory in the Italian general election is above all good for Europe. Several European leaders, regardless of their political leanings, have already...

HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK : AUSTRIAN LEGISLATION IMPERFECT FOR TEACHERS.
April 21, 2006... Austria was roundly condemned by the European Court of Justice on 6 April for failing to adequately transpose several aspects of a 1989 EU Directive on the health and safety of workers. The case (C-428/04) dates back to 1998 when the Commission...

CALL FOR E-LEARNING PROPOSALS.
April 21, 2006... The European Commission (DG Education and Culture) has launched a call for proposals for its eLearning programme (education using information and communication technologies). The call is focused on 3 out of the 4 areas of intervention covered...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : CLASH LOOMING ON EXPULSION OF ILLEGAL MIGRANTS DIRECTIVE.
April 21, 2006... A move to harmonise how illegal immigrants are expelled from the EU is starting to seriously divide EU law-makers. MEPs would like to adopt the draft Directive quickly because it harmonises expulsion procedures and arguably boosts the legal...

TOBACCO : COMMISSION FACES RESISTANCE TO ADVERTISING BAN.(European Commission)
April 21, 2006... Four EU member states were on the receiving end of letters of formal notice sent from Brussels on 4 April for non-compliance with the 2003 Directive on tobacco advertising and sponsorship. The warning letters mark the first stage in...

HEALTH : COMMISSION KEEN TO IMPROVE BREAST CANCER SCREENING.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... Free, high-quality screening for breast cancer should be provided every two years for all women aged 50 and over, according to guidelinesapublished by the European Commission on 7 April designed to improve breast cancer screening and diagnosis....

POSTED WORKERS : COMMISSION PLACES MEMBER STATES UNDER SURVEILLANCE.
April 21, 2006... The European Commission on 4 April adopted two documents on the highly topical issue of posting workers abroad in Strasbourg. The first is a Communication outlining the policy it proposes henceforth to pursue in this area, and the second a...

SOCIAL SERVICES OF GENERAL INTEREST : COMMISSION SEEKS TO ADAPT MARKET RULES.
April 21, 2006... The exclusion of the majority of social services from the draft Directive on the internal services market merely underlined the need to clarify the reality of social services of general interest (SSGI) in the European Union. The European...

POSTING OF WORKERS : CONVOLUTED CASE-LAW.
April 21, 2006... ANALYSIS Questions regarding the application of rules on the posting of workers abroad date back further than the draft Services Directive and even the Directive on the Posting of Workers. The European Court of Justice, in several rulings...

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY : CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYaALLIANCE TO EXCHANGE GOOD PRACTICES.
April 21, 2006... The European Commission decided on 22 March to sponsor the launch of a new initiative on corporate social responsibility, a joint initiative of Industry and Enterprise Commissioner Guenther Verheugen and his colleague at Employment and Social...

SERVICES DIRECTIVE : COUNCIL UNDER PRESSURE TO BACK REVISED BLUEPRINT.
April 21, 2006... With the weight of the European Parliament, the European Commissionaand even the European Council now behind the revised draft Services Directive (see Europolitics Social 171), pressure is mounting on the EU Council of Ministers to endorse the...

DISCRIMINATION/RACISM : ELEVEN MEMBER STATES OUT OF LINE.
April 21, 2006... The European Commission decided on 4 April to send a series of letters of formal notice to 11 member states (Denmark, Belgium, Spain, France, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom) for inadequate...

ENTERPRISE POLICY : EMPLOYERS STATE THEIR CONCERNS OVER EU IN CRISIS.
April 21, 2006... European companies are clearly worried that the European project might be weakened at a time when globalisation is in full swing. That, at least, was the message from Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, President of the European business confederation...

EMPLOYMENT/EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT : EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE FAVOURS MAINTAINING EXISTING GUIDELINES.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... The European Parliament's Committee for Employment and Social Affairs adopted, on 21 March, a report by Magda Kosane (Hungary, PES) on the guidelines for employment (36 votes for, 3 against and 2 abstentions).aMembers of the committee agree...

SPRING SUMMIT : EMPLOYMENT: RETURN OF FIRM TARGETS.
April 21, 2006... EU leaders attending the European Council on 23 and 24 March reiterated their belief that 'increasing employment in Europe remains one of the top priorities for reform'. They took an optimistic line: 'Labour market reforms that have been...

FREE MOVEMENT OF WORKERS : EU CITIZENS' FOREIGN SPOUSES OFTEN REQUIRE WORK PERMITS.
April 21, 2006... The right of foreigners married to EU citizens to work in the EU is a sensitive topic on which the European Court of Justice once again issued a ruling on 30 March. The judges were asked to interpret a provision in Regulation 1612/68/EEC...

RIGHT OF RESIDENCE : EU CITIZENS STILL FACE TOO MUCH RED TAPE.
April 21, 2006... Needless bureaucratic hurdles are still being put in the way of EU citizens who move to another member state, a European Commission report shows. The EU Court of Justice has done its best to remedy the problem by ordering member states to...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : EURO 9.45 MILLION IMMIGRATION AND BORDER CONTROL FUNDS.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... 21 projects aimed at boosting cooperation between national administrations on asylum, visas, immigration and border controls will receive 5.15 million from the EU's ARGO 2005 programme, the European Commission has announced. A further 4.3...

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY : EUROCHAMBRES AND NGOS UNHAPPY ABOUT INSUFFICIENT CONSULTATION.(non-governmental organizations)
April 21, 2006... The long-awaited creation of the European Alliance for Corporate Social Responsibility, announced by the European Commission on 22 March, received a mixed reaction from Eurochambres and a new coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs)...

SPRING SUMMIT : EUROPEAN INSTITUTE FOR TECHNOLOGY PLAN STILL ALIVE.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... The European Council has endorsed the notion of setting up a European Institute for Technology - based on top-class networks ppen to all member states - without entering into the details of the proposal or responding specifically to the...

SERVICES DIRECTIVE : EU SUMMITEERS BACK PARLIAMENT VOTE.(European Union)
April 21, 2006... The major changes proposed by MEPs to the draft Services Directive seem to have gone down fairly well with EU leaders at their 23/24 March summit. 'The European Council welcomes the European Parliament's vote and looks forward to the...

HIGHER EDUCATION : EXCHANGES EXPANDING RAPIDLY UNDER ERASMUS PROGRAMME.
April 21, 2006... The overall number of students taking part in Erasmus exchanges over the 2004/05 academic year rose by 6.3% on the previous year, while the number of university teachers exchanged under the scheme grew by almost 12.9%. Figures are even higher...

SOCIAL SERVICES OF GENERAL INTEREST : FREE MARKETS OR REGULATION?
April 21, 2006... Excluding the majority of social - and healthcare - services from the scope of the draft Services Directive has resolved nothing. The burning question of recent years regarding the application of EU competition and Internal Market rules to the...

FRENCH CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... By approving the controversial First Employment Contract (CPE), on 30 March, France's Constitutional Council, in line with exisiting case law, has refuted all the arguments based on the European social Charter and a community directive. In...

SPRING SUMMIT : GENDER EQUALITY PACT APPROVED BY EU LEADERS.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... A European Pact for GenderaEquality was endorsedaby EU leaders at the Spring Summit on 24 March. The idea was the joint initiative of six member states (Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Sweden and the Czech Republic) and the pact includes three...

EMPLOYMENT : LABOUR COSTS UP BY NEARLY 3% IN THE EU IN 4TH QUARTER OF 2005.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... Total hourly labour costs in the European Union rose at an average annual rate of 2.9% in nominal terms in the fourth quarter of 2005, up from 2.2% in the third quarter, according to figures released on 17 March by Eurostat. (1) Wages and...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : MANDATORY PRISONER TRANSFER MOVE MEETS RESISTANCE.
April 21, 2006... Should prisoners have the right to veto a move to transfer them to another EU member state? A draft Framework Decision tabled by Austria, Finland and Sweden thinks they should not but EU legislators do not seem so convinced. The argument...

CITIZENSHIP : MEPS ENDORSE "EUROPE FOR CITIZENS" PROGRAMME.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... The European Parliament, on 5 April, waved through, on first reading, a proposal to set up a citizenship' programme for the period 2007-2013 (with 473 votes for, 92 aginst and 51 abstentions), based on a report by the Finnish Liberal MEP,...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : MEPS URGE MORE BURDEN-SHARING ON ASYLUM.
April 21, 2006... A reform of the EU's rules on allocating responsibility to countries for managing asylum claims is being demanded by the European Parliament. The move comes in response to a 23/24 March visit by MEPs to migrant/asylum-seeker detention centres...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : MIGRANT DETENTION CENTRES IN MALTA AND FRANCE CONDEMNED.
April 21, 2006... 'One of the greatest shames of my life' is how French MEP Patrick Gaubert (EPP-ED) has described conditions in Malta's migrant detention centre following his return from a European Parliament visit there. Malta receives about 2,000 illegal...

YOUTH/INFORMAL COUNCIL : MINISTERS STRESS IMPORTANCE OF MAKING YOUNG PEOPLE PARTNERS.
April 21, 2006... The informal meeting of Youth Ministers is traditionally an opportunity to send a somewhat hackneyed message to young people to show that Europe has not forgotten them. The meeting held in Bad Ischl from 28 to 30 March was no exception. The...

POSTED WORKERS : MIXED REACTIONS TO NEW GUIDELINES FROM BOTH SIDES OF BUSINESS.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... The Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE) was quick off the mark to welcome the European Commission's 4 April Communication on the posting of workers abroad, 'which describes which national control measures are...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : MORE FLEXIBLE BORDER CROSSING REGIME WAVED THROUGH.
April 21, 2006... The green light has been given to two proposals aimed at making it less bureaucratic for non-EU nationals to transit European countries. On 6 April, the European Parliament approved two draft Decisions, following an informal agreement it...

REGIONAL POLICY : MORE FOCUS ON URBAN ACTIONS.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... The final version of the strategic guidelines which the European Commission is due to adopt as part of the EU's cohesion policy for 2007-2013 will strengthen recommendations on the urban aspects of regional policy. Regional Policy Commissioner...

SOCIAL POLICY : NGO LAUNCHES NEW MANIFESTO ON VOLUNTEERING IN EUROPE.(nongovernmental organizations)(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... The European Volunteer Centre (CEV) is calling for a European Year of Active Citizenship through Volunteering in its new Manifesto on Volunteering in Europe', which it will launch in the European Parliament on 28 March 2006. Since the first...

MOBILITY : NO PLACE LIKE HOME FOR MOST EU CITIZENS.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... A study on European attitudes to living away from home has revealed that only 2% of EU citizens live in a country which is not their country of origin - the main motivating factors being the quality of life, following a partner and employment....

MIGRATION : NORDICS PRODUCE THE BEST STATISTICS.
April 21, 2006... The Nordic countries have the best systems for compiling statistics on asylum and migration, a European Commission-sponsored study has found. By contrast, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Portugal and Greece have no national population...

ASYLUM : NUMBER OF ASYLUM CLAIMS FALLS BY 16%.
April 21, 2006... There were 16% fewer claims for asylum lodged in the European Union in 2005 compared to the previous year, new figures from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) show. The country that received the most applications was France...

LABOUR MARKETS : OPENING UP TO THE NEW EAST EUROPEAN MEMBERS' WORKERS.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... The high-level group on freedom of movement met in Brussels on 28 March to review the situation on the extension or abolition of transitional measures applied to workers from the new East European member states (EU8) in the "old" member states...

AID PROGRAMME : PARLIAMENT CONCERNED OVER FATE OF FREE FOOD FOR THE NEEDY.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... MEPs are concerned for the future of the European aid programme for the most needy. In a written declaration which secured massive backing, they warn the Commission of the impact of successive reforms of the CAP on food supplies supply for...

CONSUMER AFFAIRS : PARLIAMENT KEEN TO ENHANCE CONSUMER HEALTH AND PROTECTION.
April 21, 2006... MEPs voted by a large majority on Thursday 16 March to adopt the report by Antonio Trakatellis (EPP-ED) on the EU's action programme on health for 2007-2013. The organisation and funding of healthcare are national responsibilities. However, the...

FREE MOVEMENT OF WORKERS : PARLIAMENT URGES "OLD EUROPE" TO OPEN ITS DOORS.
April 21, 2006... In spite of last-minute discussions within political groups on Tuesday night (notably at the EPP) the European Parliament on 5 April made a point of "calling on all member states to lift transitional measures" applied to workers from the new...

RECONCILING FAMILY WITH WORK.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... 'Concilier famille et travail pour les hommes et les femmes: droit et pratiques' - How men and women can reconcile family life with work: law and practice'. This work explores and presents the current situation and future perspectives for...

TOBACCO DUTIES : SETTING MINIMUM CIGARETTE PRICES IS ILLEGAL, WARNS COMMISSION.
April 21, 2006... 'Introducing minimum retail prices for cigarettes is against Community law and mainly benefits manufacturers who are able to protect their profit margins', warned EU Taxation Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs on 10 April. The Commission, in line...

EP/CONSTITUTIONAL TREATY : SOCIAL PARTNERS IN BID TO SAVE THE CONSTITUTION.
April 21, 2006... European social partners on the whole appear to be in favour of saving the Constitution, even if it is unclear just how it can be rescued. Invited by the Parliament to attend the first Parliamentary Forum in Brussels on 21 March to debate...

SOCIO-ECONOMIC REFORMS : SOCIAL PARTNERS OPEN SPRING SUMMIT BALL.
April 21, 2006... Wolfgang Schlussel was in fine form opening the meeting with the social partners, presenting each delegate with an extract of a sonata written in Brussels by his illustrious counterpart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose 250th anniversary is being...

SOCIAL PARTNERS : SOCIAL PARTNERS TO ENDORSE NEW WORK PROGRAMME FOR 2006-2008.
April 21, 2006... Social partners at European level endorsed a new work programme for 2006-2008 at the tripartite summit on 23 March, just before the spring European Council. It was approved by top representatives of private employers (UNICE/UEAPME),...

SOCIAL RIGHTS AND MARKET FORCES.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... 'Social Rights and Market Forces. Is the open coordination of employment and social policies the future of social Europe?' aThis new publication from editions Bruylant, consisting of several contributions from social policy experts, takes a...

SPRING DAY IN EUROPE 2006.(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... For the fourth consecutive year, the network of Education Ministers (European School Net) is organising, in collaboration with the European Commission, the Spring Day in Europe event aimed at raising awareness of European issues among young...

THOMAS HAMMARBERG/COUNCIL OF EUROPE.(appointment)(Brief article)
April 21, 2006... Thomas Hammarberg was appointed Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe on 3 April following his election by the Parliamentary assembly on 5 October 2005. He replaces Alvaro Gil-Robles. 64 years of age, Mr Hammarberg is a Swedish...

SERVICES : WHAT'S IN THE MCCREEVY' DIRECTIVE.(Charlie McCreevy)
April 21, 2006... Frits Bolkestein may be alive and well but his liberal blueprint for transforming Europe's services industry has metamorphosed into something quite different since being re-christened by his successor Charlie McCreevy. The new draft Services...